Maria Elena Cruz
Maria Elena Cruz is a judge of the Arizona Supreme Court. She assumed office on February 3, 2025. Her current term ends on December 31, 2028.
Cruz ran for re-election for the Division One judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals. She won in the retention election on November 3, 2020.
Governor Katie Hobbs (D) appointed Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court on January 29, 2025. To learn more about this vacancy, click here.
Cruz was appointed to the court by Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on April 12, 2017.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
Biography
Education
Cruz received an undergraduate degree and a J.D. from the University of Arizona.[1]
Career
- 2025 - Present: Justice, Arizona Supreme Court
- 2017 - 2025: Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
- 2009-2017: Judge, Yuma County Superior Court
Prior to her service as a judge, she worked as a judge pro tempore for the Cocopah Indian Tribe, an attorney with the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, and as an assistant legal defender.[1][2]
Elections
2020
Arizona Court of Appeals Division One
Maria Elena Cruz was retained to Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals on November 3, 2020 with 81.0% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
81.0
|
310,153 | ||
No |
19.0
|
72,589 | |||
Total Votes |
382,742 | ||||
|
|
2016
Arizona held elections for 80 superior court judgeships on November 8, 2016. Seventeen of those seats were up for partisan election, including a primary contest on August 30, 2016. Only one partisan race saw more than one candidate file for the election. As both were of the same party, the race was decided in the primary, leaving all of the races unopposed on the general election ballot.
General election
Incumbent Maria Elena Cruz ran unopposed in the general election for Division 6 on the Yuma County Superior Court.
| Yuma County Superior Court, Division 6 General Election, 2016 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Maria Elena Cruz Incumbent (unopposed) |
100.00% | 28,742 | |
| Total Votes | 28,742 | |||
| Source: Yuma County, Arizona, "General Election November 8, 2016," November 9, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||||
Primary election
Incumbent Maria Elena Cruz ran unopposed in the Democratic primary election for Division 6 on the Yuma County Superior Court.
| Yuma County Superior Court, Division 6 Democratic Primary Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Maria Elena Cruz Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.58% | 5,992 |
| Write-in votes | 0.42% | 25 |
| Total Votes | 6,017 | |
| Source: Yuma County, Arizona, "Primary Election Official Final," September 12, 2016 | ||
2012
Cruz was re-elected after running unopposed.
Appointments
2025
Governor Katie Hobbs (D) appointed Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court to replace justice Robert Brutinel, who retired on October 31, 2024.[3] Brutinel was the chief justice of the court from July 1, 2019 until July 1, 2024, when the Arizona Supreme Court elected Associate Justice Ann Timmer to a five-year term to succeed him as chief justice.
Cruz is Governor Hobbs' first nominee to the seven-member supreme court, and the first judicial appointee named to the court by a Democratic governor in Arizona for over a decade. Cruz was sworn in on February 3, 2025.
In Arizona, state supreme court justices are selected through assisted appointment with a governor-controlled judicial nominating commission. Justices are appointed by the governor with the assistance of a commission with a majority of members selected by the governor. There are 10 states that use this selection method. To read more about the assisted appointment of judges, click here.
If a midterm vacancy occurs on the court, the seat is filled as it normally would be if the vacancy occurred at the end of a justice's term. Potential justices submit applications to the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, and once the commission has chosen a slate of nominees, the governor picks one from that list. After occupying the seat for two years, the newly appointed justice stands for retention in the next general election. The justice then serves a full six-year term if he or she is retained by voters.[4]
Campaign themes
2020
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Maria Elena Cruz did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2020 Elections
External links
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Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Yuma County Court Bio
- ↑ Yuma Sun, "Meet the Candidate: Yuma County Superior Court Judge, Division 6," September 28, 2012
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Governor Katie Hobbs Appoints Judge Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court," January 29, 2025
- ↑ Brennan Center for Justice, "Judicial Selection: An Interactive Map," accessed March 23, 2023
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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
