Arizona Supreme Court justice vacancy (July 2019)
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| Bales Vacancy Arizona Supreme Court |
| Vacancy date |
| Vacancy status |
| Nomination date |
| September 4, 2019 |
| Table of contents |
|
Appointee candidates Selection process About Justice Bales |
| See also |
| Recent news External links Footnotes |
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appointed Bill Montgomery (R) to the Arizona Supreme Court on September 4, 2019.[1] Montgomery replaced former Chief Justice Scott Bales, who retired on July 31, 2019.[2] After leaving office, Bales became executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.[3] Montgomery was Ducey's fifth appointment on the seven-member court.
Under Arizona law at the time of the vacancy, in the event of a supreme court vacancy, the governor appointed a justice from a list of names compiled by the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. The commission responsible for recommending potential nominees to Gov. Doug Ducey (R) was a 14-member body. It was chaired by the chief justice of the court and had seven Republican members, two Democratic members, and five registered independents. Click here to read more about the nominating commission.
Eleven individuals applied to fill the vacancy. The list of applicants includes five judges from the Arizona Court of Appeals, two judges from county superior courts, a public defender, a county attorney, and two private attorneys. There were seven Republican, two Democratic, one Libertarian, and one independent applicant. To see a full list of applicants, click here.
In a press release about his peer's retirement, Vice Chief Justice Robert Brutinel said, "Chief Justice Bales' commitment to the rule of law and the improvement of our courts have made Arizona’s courts more accessible, efficient and fair."[2]
To read more about other state supreme court vacancies across the country that are filled by appointments, click here.
The justice appointed to succeed Bales will not assume the position of chief justice. The chief justice of the court is selected by the other justices of the court.[4]
The appointee
Before being appointed to the supreme court, Bill Montgomery (R) served as Maricopa County Attorney. He was first elected to the position in a 2010 special election and was re-elected in 2012 and 2016. He also previously served as Deputy County Attorney and was a professional prosecutor before holding elected office.[5]
According to his biography on the Maricopa County Attorney's Office website, Montgomery helped with the creation of the Office of Child Welfare Investigations and the Department of Child Safety.[5]
Montgomery earned his bachelor's from West Point and his J.D. from the Arizona State University College of Law. He is a veteran of the Gulf War.[5]
Timeline
The section below highlights important events related to this vacancy:
- September 4, 2019: Ducey appointed Bill Montgomery to the vacant seat.
- July 26, 2019: The nominating commission submitted a list of seven finalists to the governor for consideration.
- June 5, 2019: Applicant list released by the nominating commission.
- March 5, 2019: Retirement announced.
Makeup of the court
At the time of the vacancy, the makeup of the court was as follows:
- Robert Brutinel - Initially appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer on November 22, 2010
- Ann Timmer - Initially appointed by Gov. Jan Brewer on October 13, 2012
- Clint Bolick - Initially appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey on January 5, 2016
- Andrew W. Gould - Initially appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey on November 28, 2016
- John Lopez IV - Initially appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey on November 28, 2016
- James Beene - Initially appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey on April 26, 2019
At the time of the vacancy, justices were appointed from a list supplied by a nominating commission, but The Arizona Republic noted that it was "exceedingly rare for a governor to appoint a justice from outside of his or her own party."[6]
Appointee candidates and nominations
The following seven finalists were sent as recommendations to Ducey:[7]
- Arizona Court of Appeals judge Sean E. Brearcliffe
- Arizona Court of Appeals judge Kent E. Cattani
- Arizona Court of Appeals judge Maria Elena Cruz
- Pima County Public Defender David J. Euchner
- Arizona Court of Appeals judge Randall M. Howe
- Attorney Andrew M. Jacobs
- Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery
- Arizona Court of Appeals judge Sean E. Brearcliffe
The selection process
- See also: Judicial selection in Arizona
At the time of the vacancy, there were seven justices on the Arizona Supreme Court, each appointed by the governor from a list of names compiled by the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. The initial term of a new justice was at least two years, after which the justice stood for retention in an uncontested yes-no election. Subsequent terms lasted six years.[8] For more information on these retention elections, visit the Arizona judicial elections page.
To serve on the supreme court, a justice had to be:
- a state resident;
- licensed to practice law in the state for 10 years; and
- under the age of 70 (retirement by 70 is mandatory).[8]
Arizona was one of 24 states in the country that used assisted appointment as their form of judicial selection for their court of last resort. Sixteen states selected judges by nonpartisan election, seven used partisan elections, four had the governor appoint judges directly, and two states (South Carolina and Virginia) used the legislature to elect judges. For more information on judicial selection methods across the country, click here.
Nominating commission members
The Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments was responsible for supplying a list of potential nominees to the governor. It was typically made up of 16 members: 10 members of the public, five lawyers, and the chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. They served staggered four-year terms. No more than five members of the public could be from the same political party, and no more than two could be from the same county. Of the attorneys, no more than three could be from the same political party, and no more than two could be from the same county. The commission vetting and recommending applicants for this vacancy is listed below. There were only 14 members on the commission because of a vacant public position and vacant attorney position. The partisan affiliation of each member was made known in official documentation.[9]
- Chief Justice Scott Bales - Chair
- Public Members (9)
- Gerald Nabours
- Dr. Tracy Munsil
- Jonathan Paton
- Laura Ciscomani
- Kathryn Townsend
- Buchanan Davis
- Matthew Contorelli
- William Gresser
- Phil Townsend
- Vacancy
- Gerald Nabours
- Attorney Members (4)
- Monica Klapper
- Benjamin Reeves
- William Ekstrom, Jr.
- Larry Suciu
- Vacancy
- Monica Klapper
About Justice Bales
Governor Janet Napolitano (D) appointed Bales to the state supreme court in 2005. He was retained in 2008 and 2014. Bales was elected by his peers as chief justice for a term that began July 1, 2014, and ended on June 30, 2019.[10]
Bales was an attorney at Lewis and Roca LLP from 2001 to 2005 and the solicitor general of Arizona from 1999 to 2001. He was an assistant U.S. attorney in Arizona from 1995 to 1999. Bales served as a judge pro tempore on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 1998 to 1999 and in 1993. From 1984 to 1985, Bales was a law clerk for then-U.S. Supreme Court Justie Sandra Day O'Connor.[10] For more on Bales' career, click here.
Bales earned his undergraduate degree, summa cum laude, from Michigan State University in 1978. He obtained a master's degree in economics from Harvard University in 1980 and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1983.[10]
Bales received numerous awards and honors during his career.[10] For more information, click here.
Other state supreme court appointments in 2019
- See also: State supreme court vacancies, 2019
The following table lists vacancies to state supreme courts that opened in 2019. Click the link under the Court column for a particular vacancy for more information on that vacancy.
Click here for vacancies that opened in 2020.
| 2019 judicial vacancies filled by appointment | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Court | Date of Vacancy | Justice | Reason | Date Vacancy Filled | Successor |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Fred Lewis | Retirement | January 9, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Barbara Pariente | Retirement | January 14, 2019 | Robert J. Luck |
| Florida Supreme Court | January 7, 2019 | Peggy Quince | Retirement | January 22, 2019 | Carlos Muñiz |
| Kentucky Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | Bill Cunningham | Retirement | March 27, 2019 | David Buckingham |
| Mississippi Supreme Court | January 31, 2019 | William Waller | Retirement | December 19, 2018 | Kenny Griffis |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | February 28, 2019 | Mark Martin | Private sector[11] | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley |
| North Carolina Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | Cheri Beasley | Apppointed to new post[12] | March 11, 2019 | Mark Davis |
| Arizona Supreme Court | March 1, 2019 | John Pelander | Retirement | April 26, 2019 | James Beene |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 10, 2019 | Patrick Wyrick | Elevation to a federal judgeship[13] | November 20, 2019 | Dustin Rowe |
| Oklahoma Supreme Court | April 30, 2019 | John Reif | Retirement | September 17, 2019 | M. John Kane IV |
| Arizona Supreme Court | July 3, 2019 | Scott Bales | Private sector[14] | September 4, 2019 | Bill Montgomery |
| Texas Supreme Court | July 31, 2019 | Jeff Brown | Elevation to a federal judgeship[15] | August 26, 2019 | Jane Bland |
| New Hampshire Supreme Court | August 23, 2019 | Robert Lynn | Retirement | January 7, 2021 | Gordon MacDonald |
| Virginia Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Elizabeth McClanahan | Retirement | February 15, 2019 | Teresa M. Chafin |
| Vermont Supreme Court | September 1, 2019 | Marilyn Skoglund | Retirement | December 5, 2019 | William Cohen |
| Kansas Supreme Court | September 8, 2019 | Lee Johnson | Retirement | December 16, 2019 | Evelyn Z. Wilson |
| Delaware Supreme Court | October 30, 2019 | Leo E. Strine Jr. | Retirement | November 7, 2019 | Collins Seitz Jr. |
| Iowa Supreme Court | November 15, 2019 | Mark Cady | Death | January 28, 2020 | Dana Oxley |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 19, 2019 | Robert J. Luck | Elevation to a federal judgeship[16] | September 14, 2020 | Jamie Rutland Grosshans |
| Florida Supreme Court | November 20, 2019 | Barbara Lagoa | Elevation to a federal judgeship[17] | May 26, 2020 | John D. Couriel |
| Kansas Supreme Court | December 17, 2019 | Lawton Nuss | Retirement | March 11, 2020 | Keynen Wall |
| Maine Supreme Court | December 2019 | Jeffrey Hjelm | Retirement | January 6, 2020 | Catherine Connors |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Wichita Eagle, "Ducey appoints Montgomery to Arizona Supreme Court," September 4, 2019
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Arizona Supreme Court, "Chief Justice Scott Bales Announces Retirement," March 5, 2019
- ↑ KTAR, "Retiring Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Bales to lead research center," March 8, 2019
- ↑ Arizona Judicial Branch, "Meet the Justices," accessed June 10, 2019
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Maricopa County Attorney's Office, "Bill Montgomery," accessed September 5, 2019
- ↑ AZ Central, "A majority of the Arizona Supreme Court will soon be selected by Gov. Doug Ducey," February 10, 2019
- ↑ [https://www.abc15.com/news/state/panel-lists-maricopa-county-attorney-bill-montgomery-six-others-for-arizona-supreme-court-opening ABC 15, " Panel lists Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, six others for Arizona Supreme Court opening," July 26, 2019]
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 National Center for State Courts, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Arizona," accessed August 22, 2016
- ↑ Arizona Judicial Branch, "Commission on Appellate Court Appointments," accessed February 11, 2019
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Arizona Courts, "Chief Justice W. Scott Bales," accessed September 24, 2014
- ↑ Martin left the court to become the dean of Regent University Law School in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- ↑ Beasley was appointed chief justice of the court.
- ↑ Wyrick was confirmed to a seat on the Western District of Oklahoma on April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Bales left the court to become executive director of the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System at the University of Denver.
- ↑ Brown was confirmed to a seat on the Southern District of Texas on July 31, 2019.
- ↑ Luck was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lagoa was confirmed to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on November 20, 2019.
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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
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