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Arizona Supreme Court elections, 2016
| 2016 State Judicial Elections |
|---|
 |
| Part 1: Overview |
| Part 2: Supreme Courts |
| Part 3: Partisanship |
| Part 4: Changes in 2016 |
One seat on the Arizona Supreme Court was up for retention on November 8, 2016.
Justices who faced retention
Election results
November 8, 2016
Ann Timmer was retained in the Arizona Supreme Court retention election with 76.71% of the vote.
| Arizona Supreme Court, Timmer's seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Ann Timmer | 76.71% | |
| Source: Arizona Secretary of State | ||
Political composition
Justices on the Arizona Supreme Court are nonpartisan and appointed to their seats. Four of the five justices were appointed by Republican governors: Ann Timmer, John Pelander, Robert Brutinel and Clint Bolick. Chief Justice Scott Bales was appointed by Gov. Janet Napolitano (D) in 2005.
| ■ Chief Justice Scott Bales | Appointed by Janet Napolitano (D) in 2005 | |
| ■ Clint Bolick | Appointed by Doug Ducey (R) in 2016 | |
| ■ Robert Brutinel | Appointed by Jan Brewer (R) in 2010 | |
| ■ John Pelander | Appointed by Jan Brewer (R) in 2009 | |
| ■ Ann Timmer | Appointed by Jan Brewer (R) in 2012 |
Selection
- See also: Judicial selection in Arizona
Judges are selected by the commission/appointment method. The Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments interviews 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. An appointed judge then serves for at least two years, after which he or she must stand for retention by voters in order to remain on the bench. If the judge wins the election, he or she serves a full term of six years.[2][3]
Political outlook
In October 2012, political science professors Adam Bonica and Michael Woodruff of Stanford University attempted to determine the partisan outlook of state supreme court justices in their paper, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns." A score above 0 indicated a more conservative-leaning ideology while scores below 0 were more liberal. The state Supreme Court of Arizona was given a campaign finance score (CFscore), which was calculated for judges in October 2012. At that time, Arizona received a score of 0.10. Based on the justices selected, Arizona was the 19th most conservative court. The study was based on data from campaign contributions by judges themselves, the partisan leaning of contributors to the judges, or—in the absence of elections—the ideology of the appointing body (governor or legislature). This study was not a definitive label of a justice but rather an academic gauge of various factors.[4]
Qualifications
To be qualified to served on the state Supreme Court, a judge must be:
- a state resident for at least 10 years
- licensed to practice law in Arizona for at least 10 years
- younger than 70 years old due to a mandatory retirement age of 70.[5]
Removal of justices
Justices can be removed in 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.
- May be censured, suspended, removed or retired based upon recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct by the Arizona Supreme Court.
- Lose a recall election after having lost a retention election.[5]
State profile
| Demographic data for Arizona | ||
|---|---|---|
| Arizona | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 6,817,565 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 113,594 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 78.4% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 4.2% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 3% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 4.4% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0.2% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 3.2% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 30.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 86% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.5% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $50,255 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 21.2% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Arizona. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Arizona
Arizona voted Republican in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.
More Arizona coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Arizona
- United States congressional delegations from Arizona
- Public policy in Arizona
- Endorsers in Arizona
- Arizona fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Arizona Supreme Court election 2016' OR 'Arizona Supreme Court'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Justices & Judges," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Arizona," accessed September 12, 2016
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Judicial Nominating Commissions (Arizona)," archived January 13, 2014, 2014
- ↑ Stanford University, "State Supreme Court Ideology and 'New Style' Judicial Campaigns," October 31, 2012
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Arizona Judicial Branch, "Supreme Court," accessed September 24, 2014
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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
