Arizona Supreme Court
From Judgepedia
| Arizona Supreme Court |
|---|
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| Sitting justices |
| Ruth McGregor Rebecca White Berch Andrew Hurwitz Michael Ryan Scott Bales |
| 2008 retention candidates |
| Scott Bales |
| Former justices |
| Arizona on Judgepedia |
Contents |
The Arizona Supreme Court is the highest court in the state of Arizona. It consists of a Chief Justice, a Vice Chief Justice, and three Associate Justices. Each Justice is appointed by the Governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for retention in an election two years after their appointment and then every six years. They must retire at age 70.
The court was first assembled in February of 1912. Since then, 39 justices have sat on the bench. Article 6, Sections 1 through 8 of the Arizona Constitution concern the supreme court specifically, while the rest of the article discusses the Arizona judiciary as a whole.
From 1912 to 1974, justices of all levels were elected to their respective courts (except in the case of unscheduled vacancies); in 1974, however, the passage of Proposition 108 ushered in the current era of merit-based judicial appointments. Proposition 108 additionally provided for "retention elections of merit-selected justices or judges after their appointments."[1]
The Bench
Section 2 of Article 6 requires that there always be at least five justices on the supreme court bench, regardless of legislation that may increase or decrease the amount of justices at any given time. Article 33 protects justices and judges from salary deductions during their term(s) in office.
Appointment Process
Like other state supreme courts, justices are appointed based upon a merit-selection process that involves the Governor's office, a merit selection committee, and during years of retention elections, the voting public.
Current Justices
- Ruth McGregor, Chief Justice.
- Rebecca White Berch
- Andrew Hurwitz
- Michael Ryan
- Scott Bales
Removal From Office
Judges in Arizona can be removed multiple ways. They may be impeached by a majority vote of the Arizona House of Representatives and summarily convicted by a two thirds vote of the Arizona Senate. The Supreme Court itself my censure, suspend, remove, or retire a judge based upon recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct. Lastly, judges in Arizona are subject to voter recall elections.
See Also
- Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct
- Minutes for Arizona Supreme Court, August 2007
- Judging the Justices: A Review of the Arizona Supreme Court, 2003-2004
- American Judicature Society: Methods of Judicial Selection
External Links
References
- Arizona Supreme Court Homepage
- Good to Great: Judicial Strategic Agenda 2005-2010
- Arizona State Constitution: Article 6
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