Arizona judicial elections, 2012
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| Judicial elections, 2012 |
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The Arizona judicial elections consisted of a primary on August 28th and general election on November 6th.[1][2][3]
Arizona judicial elections summary, 2012 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Supreme Court
| Judge | Incumbency | Retention vote | Retention Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
John Pelander  | Yes | 1,070,838 | 73.94% |
Court of Appeals
| Judge | Incumbency | Retention vote | Retention Vote % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donn Kessler | Yes | 477,974 | 66.68% |
| Joseph W. Howard | Yes | 121,064 | 76.59% |
| Margaret Downie | Yes | 512,260 | 70.06% |
| Maurice Portley | Yes | 452,943 | 63.13% |
| Patricia Norris | Yes | 507,557 | 69.63% |
| Peter Eckerstrom | Yes | 188,495 | 72.78% |
| Peter Swann | Yes | 463,787 | 64.67% |
| Philip Espinosa | Yes | 194,653 | 75.64% |
| Virginia C. Kelly | Yes | 199,865 | 77.51% |
Superior Courts
To learn more about the state's Superior Court elections, visit: Arizona judicial elections, 2012 - Superior Courts.
Ballot measure
Certified
The Arizona Judicial Selection Amendment, Proposition 115 (2012) was a Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment proposed by Arizona State Senate which appeared on the November 6, 2012 statewide ballot. The measure was defeated.
The measure sought to make a number of changes to the state judicial system, including:
- Increasing the terms of judges from six to eight years.
- Increasing the retirement age from 70 to 75.
- Allowing the State Bar of Arizona to appoint one of five attorneys to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. (Prior to 2012, the governor appointed five attorneys that were vetted by the bar association.)
- Allowing the Governor to pick up to eight finalists for the state Supreme Court, Court of Appeals and the Superior Court of Pima and Maricopa County positions. (At the time of the 2012 election, special screening panels reviewed potential judges for those courts, and the governor could pick at least three finalists.)
The ballot question was:[4]
| “ | A Concurrent Resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of Arizona; Amending Article VI, Sections 4, 12, 20, 36, 37, 39, 41 and 42, Constitution of Arizona, relating to the Judicial Department[5] | ” |
In the news
Arizona election recap, 2012
Justice John Pelander was retained to a second term on the Arizona Supreme Court and nine of nine appeals court judges were retained to another six-year term.
Two superior court races in Yuma County and Coconino County played out as follows:
- Yuma County Superior Court, Division 4
- Incumbent Judge David M. Haws lost his seat on the Yuma County Superior Court to opponent Jim Clark. Judge Haws was appointed to the court by Governor Jan Brewer earlier in 2012 to replace Andrew W. Gould who moved to the Court of Appeals and challenger Jim Clark is a civil litigator who has practiced law in Yuma County for 38 years.
- After a delay in results, the Yuma County Elections office reported that Clark defeated Haws by 366 votes.[6][7]
- Coconino County Superior Court, Division 5
- In a race originally thought to be unopposed, Cathleen Nichols found herself facing an opponent. After incumbent Judge Joseph Lodge was declared unable to appear on the ballot, Nichols was the only candidate in this year's general election. The race changed when attorney Gary Robbins entered as a write-in candidate.[8]
- Now that unofficial results are in we have the outcome of this race. Cathleen Nichols garnered 54.77 percent of the vote, defeating Gary Robbins, who received 44.33 percent of the vote. Nichols will begin her term in early January 2013.
Candidates come and go in Arizona Superior Court race
As featured in JP Election Brief: Race mix-ups and a pledge of peace on October 11, 2012.
Originally, it appeared that Democrat Cathleen Nichols would run for the Division 5 position on the Coconino County Superior Court in Arizona unopposed, when it was found that her primary opponent, incumbent Judge Joseph Lodge, could not appear on the ballot. In a ruling upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court, Yavapai County Judge Michael Bluff held that the signatures nominating Lodge were invalid because he failed to indicate clearly which position he was running for.[9] Following that ruling, two candidates, Libertarian Steve Hauser and Republican Gary Robbins, decided to run for the position as write-in candidates, in part because of the legal challenge made to Lodge's candidacy. Hauser said, "I'd originally gotten into the race as a matter of principle just because I didn't want to see this seat go uncontested."[10]
Now, Hauser has withdrawn from the race, stating that he "no longer need[s] to be in the race because another candidate on the ballot is challenging . . . Nichols."[10] That leaves Nichols and Robbins as the only two candidates in a race for the judgeship.
Pima County judges make the grade
As featured in JP Election Brief: Retentions, retirements and ratings on September 20, 2012.
The Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review has given a passing grade to all 18 of the Pima County Superior Court judges who are up for retention this year.[11]
The Commission distributes written surveys to jurors, witnesses, parties, and attorneys, and asks them to rate the judges on various factors including integrity, communication skills, legal ability, administrative performance, and judicial temperament. The respondents can rate the judges' performance in each area as poor, satisfactory, very good, or superior. Based on the scores received, the Commission then determines whether each judge meets predetermined performance standards.[11]
The survey return rate ranged from 14 to 46 percent throughout the county for individual judges. More surveys were distributed for judges with greater caseloads. With a few exceptions, Judges Karen Adam, Gus Aragon, Deborah Bernini, Kyle A. Bryson, Carmine Cornelio, Jane L. Eikleberry, Richard S. Fields, Richard Gordon, Howard Hantman, Jan E. Kearney, Kenneth Lee, Leslie Miller, Michael O. Miller, Scott Rash, Sarah R. Simmons, Christopher P. Staring, Paul E. Tang, and Stephen C. Villarreal all received scores of 85 percent or higher in all categories.[11]
- Visit the Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review's website for all the scores.
Arizona 2012 retention elections
As featured in JP Election Brief: 2012 Retention Elections on July 5, 2012.
Since the passage of Proposition 108 in 1974, appellate court judges in Arizona have been chosen using merit selection. Following their appointment to the bench, Arizona appellate judges must stand for retention in the next general election that takes place more than two years after they took office.[12]
Arizona's "constitutionally authorized judicial performance evaluation program" was established by voter approval of Proposition 109 in 1992. The goal of this proposition was enabling voters to make informed decisions during judicial retention elections. It required the establishment of a process to review judges' performance and the provision of judicial performance information to the voters. The commission then determines whether a judge "meets" or "does not meet" judicial performance standards and makes its decision available to the public.[13]
Arizona's method of judicial selection could change this fall, when voters are asked to decide the fate of Proposition 115. If passed, this proposition would require judicial screening panels to provide the governor with a list of at least eight candidates for each vacant judgeship, rather than three, thus giving more discretion to the governor than the merit selection system. U.S. 9th Circuit Court Judge Mary Schroeder, who formerly served on the Arizona Court of Appeals, said that the proposition "does away with the concept of merit selection" in the state.[14]
This year, Arizona Supreme Court Justices Robert Brutinel and John Pelander will run for retention in the general election on November 6.[15]
Judicial performance commission evaluates judges
As featured in JP Election Brief: Looking at Arizona, North Dakota and Texas on June 28, 2012.
Last week, Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review held a public meeting in the Arizona State Courts Building to vote on whether the justices and judges on this year's general election ballot meet the state's judicial performance standards.[16]
The Commission, made up of 30 members, was established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment in 1992. To evaluate judges, the commission sets judicial performance standards, decides whether judges meet those standards, and publishes its findings for voter consideration. It collects information about judicial performance by surveying those with knowledge of particular judges, including self-represented parties, witnesses, jurors, staff, and attorneys. Over 13,000 surveys were collected about the 77 justices and judges scheduled to be on this year's general election ballot.[16]
Based on the results of those surveys and comments from the public,[16] the commission members will cast a vote indicating whether a judge "meets" or "does not meet" Arizona's judicial performance standards.[17] Results of this meeting's vote will be made available to the public in the Secretary of State's voter pamphlet and on the Commission's website. Voters will have the opportunity to vote for or against the retention of these judges in the general election on November 6, 2012.[16]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Green Papers: Arizona 2012 General Election
- ↑ Politics1, Online Guide to Arizona Politics
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State: 2011/2012 Election Important Dates
- ↑ Arizona Secretary of State, "Ballot Measures", September 17, 2012
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ KYMA News, "Jim Clark Leads in Race for Yuma County Sup. Court Judge," November 13, 2012
- ↑ The Yuma Sun, "Challengers win races for judge, treasurer," November 16, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Daily Sun, "No love lost in race for judge," October 9, 2012
- ↑ Arizona Daily Sun, "Judge's name thrown off primary ballot," June 28, 2012
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Arizona Daily Sun, "3-way race for judge down to 2," September 19, 2012
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Arizona Daily Star, "18 Pima Superior Court judges pass review, are up for retention on ballot," September 17, 2012
- ↑ Judgepedia, "Judicial Selection in Arizona"
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Arizona; Retention Evaluation Programs," archived October 2, 2014
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "Proposition 115 would give Brewer more say on judicial appointments," June 6, 2012
- ↑ Justice at Stake, "2011-2012 Retention Supreme Court Elections," September 30, 2011
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, "News Release: Commission to vote on performance of justices and judges on 2012 general election ballot," June 18, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, Meeting Agenda, June 27, 2012
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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
