Arizona Court of Appeals
The Arizona Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Arizona. It is divided into two divisions, with a total of twenty-two judges on the court: sixteen in Division One, based in Phoenix, and six in Division Two, based in Tucson.
Jurisdiction[]
The Court of Appeals has jurisdiction to consider appeals in civil cases, including juvenile and domestic relations matters, from the Arizona Superior Court. The court also reviews workers’ compensation and unemployment benefits decisions, tax court decisions, and certain corporation commission decisions.
The court also has jurisdiction over appeals in criminal matters from superior court, except for cases in which a death sentence has been imposed. Death penalty cases go directly to the Supreme Court of Arizona.
The court may also decide "petitions for special action," which is Arizona's term for petitions for special writs, such as certiorari, mandamus, prohibition, and interlocutory appeals.
Procedures[]
Selection of judges[]
Judges are selected by a modified form of the Missouri Plan. A bipartisan commission considers applicants and sends a list of nominees to the governor. The governor is required by law to appoint from this list based on merit, without regard to party affiliation. Judges are then retained for an initial period, after which they are subject to a retention election. If the judge wins the election, his/her term is six years.
Deciding cases[]
The Court of Appeals decides cases in panels of three judges, called "departments." Each department chooses a presiding judge from among the three. Division One also has a Chief Judge and Vice Chief Judge, elected by all judges in the division.
Divisions[]
While the Court of Appeals is divided into two geographic divisions in Phoenix and Tucson, the superior courts are bound by all of the Court of Appeals decisions, regardless of the division they are issued in. An Arizona trial court is not required to give greater precedent to a Court of Appeals decision from the division it is located in then a decision from the other division.[1]
- Division 1 consists of Maricopa, Yuma, La Paz, Mohave, Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo and Apache counties.
- Division 2 consists of Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham and Gila counties.[2]
At least ten judges of Division One must be residents of Maricopa county and five residents of the remaining counties. One may be from any county. At least four judges of Division Two must be residents of Pima county and two residents of the remaining counties.[3]
Division One has statewide responsibility for appeals from the Industrial Commission and unemployment compensation rulings of the Department of Economic Security.[4] One department of Division One is responsible for appeals from the Tax Court.[5]
Court members[]
The members of Arizona Court of Appeals Division 1, by order of seniority,[6] include:
Name | Appointment | Law school | Appointed by | County | Age | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael J. Brown[a] | Jan. 2, 2007 | Arizona State University College of Law | Janet Napolitano | Navajo | 56–57[7] | MJB |
Peter B. Swann[a] | Nov. 5, 2008 | University of Maryland School of Law | Janet Napolitano | Maricopa | 56–57 | 12 |
Randall M. Howe | April 11, 2012 | Arizona State University College of Law | Jan Brewer | Maricopa | 58–59[8] | 12 |
Samuel A. Thumma[a] | April 11, 2012 | University of Iowa College of Law | Jan Brewer | Maricopa | 59–60[7] | 12 |
Kent E. Cattani[b] | Feb. 9, 2013 | UC Berkeley School of Law | Jan Brewer | Maricopa | 64–65[7] | 12 |
Paul J. McMurdie | Nov. 14, 2016 | Arizona State University College of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | PJM | |
Maria E. Cruz | April 12, 2017 | University of Arizona College of Law | Doug Ducey | Yuma | 12 | |
Jennifer B. Campbell | April 27, 2017 | University of Texas School of Law | Doug Ducey | Yavapai | JBC | |
Jennifer M. Perkins | Oct. 30, 2017 | SMU Dedman School of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | 12 | |
James B. Morse Jr. | Nov. 6, 2017 | University of Virginia School of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | 12 | |
David D. Weinzweig | Dec. 29, 2017 | Arizona State University College of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | 1 2 | |
David B. Gass | Sept. 13, 2019 | Arizona State University College of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | 12 | |
D. Steven Williams | Nov. 1, 2019 | Arizona State University College of Law | Doug Ducey | Navajo | 12 | |
Cynthia J. Bailey | April 24, 2020 | Arizona State University College of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | 1 2 | |
Brian Y. Furuya | Dec. 23, 2020 | J. Reuben Clark Law School | Doug Ducey | Coconino | 1 2 | |
Angela K. Paton | Oct. 8, 2021 | Arizona State University College of Law | Doug Ducey | Maricopa | 1 2 |
The members of Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 2 include:
Name | Appointment | Law school | Appointed by | County | Age | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Philip Espinosa[a] | 1992 | University of Arizona College of Law | Fife Symington | Pima | PGE | |
Peter Eckerstrom[a] | 2003 | Stanford Law School | Janet Napolitano | Pima | 61 | PJE |
Garye L. Vasquez[b] | 2005 | University of Arizona College of Law | Janet Napolitano | Pinal | 63 | GVL |
Christopher P. Staring | 2015 | Tulane University Law School | Doug Ducey | Pima | CPS | |
Karl Eppich | 2017 | Stanford Law School | Doug Ducey | Pinal | 12 | |
Sean Brearcliffe | Sept. 20, 2017 | Golden Gate University School of Law | Doug Ducey | Pima | 12 |
Former judges[]
Several court of appeal judges were elevated to the Arizona Supreme Court, including: James Duke Cameron (1965–1971), Robert J. Corcoran (1981–1988), Ruth McGregor (1989–1998), Michael D. Ryan (1996–2002), Rebecca White Berch (1998–2002), Ann Timmer (2000–2012), Andrew Gould (2012–2017), and James Beene (2017–2019).
Other notable former judges include:
- Gary K. Nelson (1974–1978), former Arizona Attorney General.
- Mary M. Schroeder (1975–1979), current Senior Judge on the Ninth Circuit.
- Sandra Day O'Connor (1979–1981), former United States Supreme Court Justice.
- Sarah D. Grant (1982–1999).
- Jon W. Thompson (1995–2019), died in office.
- G. Murray Snow (2002–2008), current District Judge.
- Diane Johnsen (2006–2019).
See also[]
Notes[]
References[]
- ^ State v. Patterson, 218 P.3d 1031, 1037 (Ariz. App. 2009)
- ^ A.R.S. § 12–120
- ^ A.R.S. § 12–120.02
- ^ "Court of Appeals".
- ^ A.R.S. § 12–170
- ^ 2018 Annual Review
- ^ a b c Seven finalists named for state supreme court
- ^ State appeals judge challenged biases as first person with cerebral palsy to argue before SCOTUS
External links[]
- Arizona state courts
- State appellate courts of the United States