Arizona Supreme Court
Encyclopedia
The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court
State supreme court
In the United States, the state supreme court is the highest state court in the state court system ....

 of the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

. It consists of a Chief Justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

, a Vice Chief Justice, and three associate justice
Associate Justice
Associate Justice or Associate Judge is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the United States Supreme Court and some state supreme courts, and for some other courts in Commonwealth...

s. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for retention
Retention election
A judicial retention election is a periodic process whereby a judge is subject to a referendum held at the same time as a general election...

 in an election two years after their appointment and then every six years. They must retire at age 70.

The Chief Justice is chosen for a five-year term by the court, and is eligible for re-election. He or she supervises the administration of all the inferior courts. He or she is Chairman of the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, which nominates candidates to fill vacancies in the appellate courts. If the Governor fails to appoint one of the nominated candidates within sixty days of their names being submitted to her or him, the Chief Justice makes the appointment.

The Vice Chief Justice, who acts as Chief Justice in the latter's "absence or incapacity," is chosen by the court for a term determined by the court.

The jurisdiction of the court is prescribed by Article VI, Section 5 of the Arizona Constitution
Arizona Constitution
The Constitution of the State of Arizona is the governing document and framework for the U.S. state of Arizona. The current constitution is the first and only adopted by the state of Arizona.-History:...

. Most of the appeals heard by the court go through the Arizona Court of Appeals
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....

, except for death penalty
Capital punishment in the United States
Capital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...

 cases, over which the Arizona Supreme Court has sole appellate jurisdiction
Appellate jurisdiction
Appellate jurisdiction is the power of the Supreme Court to review decisions and change outcomes of decisions of lower courts. Most appellate jurisdiction is legislatively created, and may consist of appeals by leave of the appellate court or by right...

. The court also has original jurisdiction in a few other circumstances as outlined in the Arizona Constitution. A quorum
Quorum
A quorum is the minimum number of members of a deliberative assembly necessary to conduct the business of that group...

 is three, but the whole court must sit in order to declare a law unconstitutional.

Justices

The current Arizona Supreme Court includes:
  • Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch
    Rebecca White Berch
    Rebecca White Berch is a justice on the Arizona Supreme Court. On July 1, 2009, she began a five-year term as the court's Chief Justice, a position to which she was elected by her peers on the court. As chief justice, she succeeds Ruth McGregor...

  • Vice Chief Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz
    Andrew D. Hurwitz
    Andrew D. Hurwitz is a Phoenix, Arizona attorney currently serving as Vice Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He also has been nominated to serve as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He is a native of Boonton, New Jersey and a graduate of Boonton High...

  • Justice W. Scott Bales
  • Justice John Pelander
  • Justice Robert M. Brutinel

Membership History

Alfred Franklin, Donald L. Cunningham, and Henry D. Ross took office on February 14, 1912.
Name Length of tenure Beginning Succeeded by
Alfred Franklin 6.5 years 2/14/1912 John Wilson Ross
John Wilson Ross 8 weeks 11/13/1918 Albert C. Baker
Donald L. Cunningham 9 years 2/14/1912 Archibald G. McAlister
Albert C. Baker 2.5 years 1/16/1919 Edward G. Flanigan
Edward G. Flanigan 1 year 9/28/1921 Frank H. Lyman
Frank H. Lyman 2 years 1/1/1923 Alfred C. Lockwood
Alfred C. Lockwood 18 years 1/5/1925 Rawghlie Clement Stanford
Archibald G. McAlister 24 years 1/4/1921 Arthur T. LaPrade
Henry D. Ross 33 years 2/14/1912 Joseph H. Morgan
Joseph H. Morgan 2 years 2/13/1945 Levi Stewart Udall
Evo Anton DeConcini
Evo Anton DeConcini
Evo Anton DeConcini was Attorney General of Arizona, and a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from 1949 to 1953.Born in Iron Mountain, Michigan, DeConcini and his family soon moved to Wisconsin. He began studies at the University of Wisconsin in 1920, but his father's death in an automobile...

4 years Dudley W. Windes
Rawghlie Clement Stanford
Rawghlie Clement Stanford
Rawghlie Clement Stanford was the fifth Governor of Arizona and served from 1937 to 1939. Born in Buffalo Gap, Texas, he was a lawyer and served as Justice of the Arizona State Supreme Court after his governorship in 1943. He later became Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court in 1953.Stanford...

12 years 1/4/1943 Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr.
Arthur T. LaPrade 12.5 years 1/1/1945 J. Mercer Johnson
Dudley W. Windes 6 years 1/13/1953 Charles C. Bernstein
Levi Stewart Udall
Levi Stewart Udall
Levi Stewart Udall was a U.S. lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He was a member of the Udall political family....

13 years 1/6/1947 Jesse Addison Udall
Jesse Addison Udall
Jesse Addison Udall was a member of the Udall political family who served as chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court....

J. Mercer Johnson 3 years 9/16/1957 Robert O. Lesher
Robert O. Lesher 2.5 months 9/20/1960 Renz L. Jennings
Marlin T. Phelps 12 years Lorna E. Lockwood
Lorna E. Lockwood
Lorna Elizabeth Lockwood was a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. She was the first female Chief Justice of a state supreme court in the United States. In the 1960s she was almost nominated by President Lyndon Johnson to be the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court...

Renz L. Jennings 3.5 years 12/12/1960 Edward W. Scruggs
Edward W. Scruggs 5 months 8/5/1964 Ernest McFarland
Ernest McFarland
Ernest William McFarland was an American politician and, with Warren Atherton, is considered one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill". He is the only Arizonan to serve in the highest office in all three branches of Arizonan government—two at the state level, one at the federal level...

Charles C. Bernstein 10 years 1/5/1959 Jack D. H. Hays
Ernest McFarland
Ernest McFarland
Ernest William McFarland was an American politician and, with Warren Atherton, is considered one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill". He is the only Arizonan to serve in the highest office in all three branches of Arizonan government—two at the state level, one at the federal level...

6 years 1/4/1965 James Duke Cameron
Jesse Addison Udall
Jesse Addison Udall
Jesse Addison Udall was a member of the Udall political family who served as chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court....

11.5 years 6/15/1960 William A. Holohan
Lorna E. Lockwood
Lorna E. Lockwood
Lorna Elizabeth Lockwood was a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. She was the first female Chief Justice of a state supreme court in the United States. In the 1960s she was almost nominated by President Lyndon Johnson to be the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court...

14 years 1/1/1961 Frank X. Gordon Jr.
Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr. 27 years 1/3/1955 Stanley G. Feldman
Jack D. H. Hays 18 years 1/4/1969 James Moeller
William A. Holohan 17 years 1/17/1972 Robert J. Corcoran
Frank X. Gordon Jr. 16.5 years 9/16/1975 Thomas A. Zlaket
James Duke Cameron 21 years 1/4/1971 Frederick J. Martone
Robert J. Corcoran 7 years 1/5/1989 Charles E. Jones
James Moeller
James Moeller
James Moeller is an American lawyer and jurist who served as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court for eleven years from 1987 to 1998....

11 years 2/23/1987 Ruth V. McGregor
Frederick J. Martone 10 years 2/28/1992 Rebecca White Berch
Thomas A. Zlaket 10 years 2/3/1992 Michael D. Ryan
Stanley Feldman 20 years 1/19/1982 Andrew D. Hurwitz
Charles E. Jones
Charles E. Jones (judge)
Charles Edward Jones, Jr. was a member of the Arizona Supreme Court. He served as an associate judge on that court from 1996 to 2002 and then as the chief justice of the court from 2002 to 2005...

9 years 4/26/1996 Scott Bales
Ruth McGregor
Ruth McGregor
Ruth V. McGregor is a former justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.McGregor was a justice of the state's highest court from 1998, when she was appointed to the court by Republican Governor Jane Dee Hull until her retirement in 2009. She was retained in 2000 and 2006. She served a term as Chief...

11 years 2/13/1998 John Pelander
Michael D. Ryan
Michael D. Ryan
Michael D. Ryan is an associate justice on the Arizona Supreme Court, a position he has held since July 1, 2002. He is also a veteran of the Vietnam War.Ryan has announced that he will be stepping down from the court effective August 6, 2010.-Education:...

9 years 5/22/2002 Robert M. Brutinel
Rebecca White Berch Presently serving 4/08/2002 Not applicable
Andrew D. Hurwitz Presently serving 3/17/2003 Not applicable
W. Scott Bales Presently serving 9/16/2005 Not applicable
John Pelander Presently serving 9/08/2009 Not Applicable
Robert M. Brutinel Presently serving 1/10/2011 Not Applicable

Chief Justices

  • Alfred Franklin - 01/1912 to 12/1914
  • Henry D. Ross - 1/1915 to 12/1916
  • Alfred Franklin - 01/1917 to 12/1917
  • Donald L. Cunningham - 01/1918 to 12/1920
  • Henry D. Ross - 1/1921 to 12/1922
  • Archibald G. McAlister - 1/1923 to 12/1926
  • Henry D. Ross - 1/1927 to 12/1928
  • Alfred C. Lockwood - 1/1929 to 12/1930
  • Archibald G. McAlister - 1/1931 to 12/1932
  • Henry D. Ross - 1/1933 to 12/1934
  • Alfred C. Lockwood - 1/1935 to 12/1936
  • Archibald G. McAlister - 1/1937 to 12/1938
  • Henry D. Ross - 1/1939 to 12/1940
  • Alfred C. Lockwood - 1/1941 to 12/1942
  • Archibald G. McAlister - 1/1943 to 12/1944
  • Henry D. Ross - 1/1945 to 2/1945
  • R.C. Stanford - 2/1945 to 12/1948
  • Arthur T. LaPrade - 1/1949 to 12/1950
  • Levi Stewart Udall
    Levi Stewart Udall
    Levi Stewart Udall was a U.S. lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He was a member of the Udall political family....

     - 1/1951 to 12/1952
  • R.C. Stanford - 1/1953 to 12/1953
  • Marlin T. Phelps - 1/1954 to 12/1954
  • Arthur T. LaPrade - 1/1955 to 12/1956
  • Levi Stewart Udall
    Levi Stewart Udall
    Levi Stewart Udall was a U.S. lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He was a member of the Udall political family....

     - 1/1957 to 12/1958
  • Marlin T. Phelps - 1/1959 to 12/1959
  • Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr. - 1/1960 to 12/1961
  • Charles C. Bernstein - 1/1962 to 12/1963
  • Jesse Addison Udall
    Jesse Addison Udall
    Jesse Addison Udall was a member of the Udall political family who served as chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court....

     - 1/1964 to 12/1964
  • Lorna E. Lockwood
    Lorna E. Lockwood
    Lorna Elizabeth Lockwood was a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. She was the first female Chief Justice of a state supreme court in the United States. In the 1960s she was almost nominated by President Lyndon Johnson to be the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court...

     - 1/1965 to 12/1965 (First female chief justice in the United States)
  • Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr. - 1/1966 to 12/1966
  • Charles C. Bernstein - 1/1967 to 12/1967
  • Ernest W. McFarland - 1/1968 to 12/1968
  • Jesse Addison Udall
    Jesse Addison Udall
    Jesse Addison Udall was a member of the Udall political family who served as chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court....

     - 1/1969 to 12/1969
  • Lorna E. Lockwood
    Lorna E. Lockwood
    Lorna Elizabeth Lockwood was a Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. She was the first female Chief Justice of a state supreme court in the United States. In the 1960s she was almost nominated by President Lyndon Johnson to be the first female justice on the United States Supreme Court...

     - 1/1970 to 12/1970
  • Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr. - 1/1971 to 12/1971
  • Jack D.H. Hays - 1/1972 to 12/1974
  • James Duke Cameron - 1/1975 to 12/1979
  • Fred C. Struckmeyer Jr. - 1/1980 to 12/1981
  • William A. Holohan - 1/1982 to 1/1987
  • Frank X. Gordon Jr. - 1/1987 to 1/1992
  • Stanley G. Feldman - 1/1992 to 1/1997
  • Thomas A. Zlaket - 1/1997 to 1/2002
  • Charles E. Jones
    Charles E. Jones (judge)
    Charles Edward Jones, Jr. was a member of the Arizona Supreme Court. He served as an associate judge on that court from 1996 to 2002 and then as the chief justice of the court from 2002 to 2005...

     - 1/2002 to 6/11/2005
  • Ruth V. McGregor - 6/12/2005 to 6/30/2009
  • Rebecca White Berch
    Rebecca White Berch
    Rebecca White Berch is a justice on the Arizona Supreme Court. On July 1, 2009, she began a five-year term as the court's Chief Justice, a position to which she was elected by her peers on the court. As chief justice, she succeeds Ruth McGregor...

    - 7/1/2009 to Present

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK