Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments

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Methods of judicial selection
Partisan elections
Nonpartisan elections
Michigan method
Retention elections
Assisted appointment
Bar-controlled commission
Governor-controlled commission
Hybrid commission
Legislative elections
Gubernatorial appointment

The Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments is one of the five Arizona Judicial Nominating Commissions. This commission concerns itself exclusively with appointments to the appellate courts in the state, which are the intermediate appellate courts and the Arizona Supreme Court. The commission is composed of 16 members who serve staggered four-year terms. The membership includes 10 non-attorneys, who are referred to as public members, five attorneys, and its chair. The chair of the commission is the chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

Arizona uses the Assisted appointment method of judicial selection when choosing candidates for the state's courts. The commission is authorized in Article 6, Section 36 of the Arizona Constitution. Using this method, the governor appoints state judges from a list of names submitted by the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. This selection method is used for the Arizona Supreme Court, Arizona Court of Appeals, and Arizona Superior Court.

The Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments is a governor-controlled commission, which means that a majority of members are chosen by the governor. As of September 26, 2025, 11 states used this type of commission. To learn more about controlling majorities in judicial selection commissions, click here.

In addition to its role in judicial selection, the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments evaluates judge performance and makes that information available to voters.

Members

Last updated: May 2024

The commission is composed of 16 members who serve staggered four-year terms. The membership includes 10 non-attorneys, who are referred to as public members, five attorneys, and its chair. The chair of the commission is the chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

According to the Arizona Constitution, Article 6, Section 36(A), the commission cannot have more than five public members of the same political party, two public members from the same county, three attorneys from the same political party or two attorneys from the same county.

Members of the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, May 2024
Name	Appointed by	Term-end date
Chair - Robert Brutinel	Gov. Jan Brewer (R)	July 1, 2024
April Hiosik Ignacio	Gov. Katie Hobbs (D)	January 18, 2027
Gladys Anaya	Gov. Katie Hobbs (D)	January 20, 2027
Karen Smith	Gov. Katie Hobbs (D)	January 18, 2027
Tina Vannucci	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 19, 2026
Oscar Lizardi	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 20, 2025
James Zieler	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 16, 2023
Kathryn Townsend	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 19, 2026
Daniel Adelman	Gov. Katie Hobbs (D)	January 18, 2027
Jonathan Paton	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 15, 2024
Laura Ciscomani	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 15, 2024
Kevin Taylor	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 15, 2024
Jaime Chamberlain	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 15, 2024
Gilbert Davidson	Gov. Doug Ducey (R)	January 19, 2026
Vacant	N/A	N/A
Vacant	N/A	N/A

Process

On its website, the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments lays out the following steps for filling a judicial vacancy:

• Recruitment of applicants - Commissioners publicize judicial vacancies, and actively seek out applications from qualified individuals.
• Screening of applications and selection of applicants:
  • Public notice and comment - Commissioners publicize names of applicants and a date for a public screening meeting.
  • Investigation of applicants - Commissioners conduct an investigation into the background and qualifications of the applicant.
  • Screening meeting - Commissioners discuss qualifications of applicants, allow for public comment, and select applicants for interviews
• Interviews of applicants and selection of nominees:
  • Public notice and comment - Commissioners publicize applicants selected for an interview and the place, date, and time of the public interview meeting
  • Investigation of applicants selected for interview - Commissioners further investigate selected applicants
  • Communication with applicants - Commissioners conduct interviews at a meeting, accept public comment, deliberate, and select nominees to submit to the governor
• Transmittal to the governor - Commissioners deliver the names of nominees to the governor

Duties

As of April 2025, the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments website did not list specific duties for members of the commission.

Control of judicial selection commissions

Assisted appointment is a method of judicial selection in which a nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list.

At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types, based on the makeup of the judicial nominating commissions. Those types are:

• Governor-controlled commission - The governor is either responsible for appointing a majority of the members of the nominating commission or may decline to appoint a candidate from a list provided by the nominating commission.
• Bar-controlled commission - Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the members of the nominating commission.
• Hybrid - There is no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state Bar Association. The membership of these commissions is determined by different rules in each state.

Twenty-three courts in 22 states used assisted appointment to select state supreme court justices as of June 2021. Arizona used a governor-controlled commission. The table below shows the number of courts using each variation of assisted appointment at the state supreme court level.

Assisted appointment methods in state supreme courts
Method	Courts (of 23)
Governor-controlled majority	10
Bar-controlled majority	1
Hybrid	12

About judicial selection

Each state has a unique set of guidelines governing how they select judges at the state and local level. These methods of selection are:

Election

• Partisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot alongside a label designating political party affiliation.
• Nonpartisan election: Judges are elected by the people, and candidates are listed on the ballot without a label designating party affiliation.
• Michigan method: State supreme court justices are selected through nonpartisan elections preceded by either partisan primaries or conventions.
• Retention election: A periodic process whereby voters are asked whether an incumbent judge should remain in office for another term. Judges are not selected for initial terms in office using this election method.

Assisted appointment

• Assisted appointment, also known as merit selection or the Missouri Plan: A nominating commission reviews the qualifications of judicial candidates and submits a list of names to the governor, who appoints a judge from the list. At the state supreme court level, this method is further divided into the following three types:
  • Bar-controlled commission: Members of the state Bar Association are responsible for electing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees that they must choose from.
  • Governor-controlled commission: The governor is responsible for appointing a majority of the judicial nominating commission that sends the governor a list of nominees they must choose from.
  • Hybrid commission: The judicial nominating commission has no majority of members chosen by either the governor or the state bar association. These commissions determine membership in a variety of ways, but no institution or organization has a clear majority control.

Direct appointment

• Court appointment: Judges are selected by judges in the state judiciary.
• Gubernatorial appointment: Judges are appointed by the governor. In some cases, approval from the legislative body is required.
• Legislative election: Judges are selected by the state legislature.
• Municipal government selection: Judges are selected by the governing body of their municipality.

Click a state on the map below to explore judicial selection processes in that state.

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http://ballotpedia.org/Judicial_selection_in_STATE

See also

State courts	Appointment methods	Election methods
State supreme courts Intermediate appellate courts Trial courts	Assisted appointment Court appointment Gubernatorial appointment Legislative election Municipal government selection	Partisan election Nonpartisan election Michigan method

External links

• Current members of the commission
• Commission on Appellate Court Appointments

Footnotes

Arizona courts

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Federal courts:

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Arizona • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Arizona

State courts:

Arizona Supreme Court • Arizona Court of Appeals • Arizona Superior Court • Arizona Justice Courts • Arizona Municipal Courts

State resources:

Courts in Arizona • Arizona judicial elections • Judicial selection in Arizona