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Pamela Gates
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2029
Pamela Gates is a judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona. Her current term ends on January 1, 2029.
Gates ran for re-election for judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona. She won in the retention election on November 5, 2024.
Gates was appointed to the court by Gov. Jan Brewer (R) in October 2009.[1]
Biography
Gates received an undergraduate degree from Drake University and a J.D. from the University of Iowa College of Law.[2]
Prior to her appointment to the court in 2009, Gates was a partner at Bryan Cave LLP and an attorney at O'Connor Cavanagh. She also interned with the United States attorney's office in 1994.[2]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Maricopa County, Arizona (2024)
Maricopa County Superior Court, Pam Gates's seat
Pamela Gates was retained to the Maricopa County Superior Court on November 5, 2024 with 77.0% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
77.0
|
950,344 | ||
No |
23.0
|
284,438 | |||
Total Votes |
1,234,782 | ||||
|
|
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Gates in this election.
2020
Maricopa County Superior Court, Pamela Gates's seat
Pamela Gates was retained to the Maricopa County Superior Court on November 3, 2020 with 77.2% of the vote.
Retention Vote |
% |
Votes |
|||
| ✔ | Yes |
77.2
|
975,233 | ||
No |
22.8
|
287,316 | |||
Total Votes |
1,262,549 | ||||
|
|
2016
Arizona held elections for 80 superior court judgeships on November 8, 2016. Sixty-three of those seats were up for retention election. Three counties—Maricopa, Pima, and Pinal—use retention elections for their superior courts.[3]
| Maricopa County Superior Court, Pamela Gates Retention Election, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Name | Yes votes | |
 Pamela Gates | 74.85% | |
| Source: Maricopa County, Arizona, "November 8, 2016 General Election," November 9, 2016 These election results are unofficial and will be updated after official vote totals are made available. | ||
2012
Gates was retained with 71.19 percent of the vote in the general election on November 6, 2012.[4][5]
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Pamela Gates did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
2020
Pamela Gates did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
Noteworthy cases
Aguila v. Ducey (2020)
Aguila v. Ducey: On September 8, 2020, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Pamela Gates declined to block Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey’s (R) COVID-19 business restrictions, which shutter bars while allowing restaurants to remain open and serve alcohol. In their complaint, which was originally filed in the state supreme court, a group of Arizona bar owners argued that they faced impermissible discrimination based on their liquor license series. They said that bars with "series 6 or 7 liquor licenses are subject to closure orders in Executive Order 2020-43," while roughly 5,000 restaurant bars, hotel bars, microbreweries, wineries, private clubs, distilleries, tasting rooms, which have different series liquor licenses, remained open. They argued that Ducey’s restrictions constituted an unconstitutional delegation of authority; exceeded statutory rulemaking authority granted by Arizona law; arbitrarily discriminated against plaintiffs and deprive them of their property, in violation of the state constitution; and violated the Equal Protection and Takings Clauses of the U.S. Constitution. Citing the "unrelenting spread of the novel coronavirus," Gates found that "the public interest is overwhelmingly in favor of the continuation of" Ducey’s orders. Gates ruled that there is "no inherent right in a citizen to ... sell intoxicating liquors by retail," and further, the governor's restrictions "are rationally related to expert data and guidance on minimizing the spread of COVID-19." Attorney Ilan Wurman, representing the bar owners, acknowledged the likelihood of failure on the merits, saying he hoped to "get a summary judgment ruling quickly and just move on to the appeal."[6][7]
See also
2024 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ AZCentral, "Arizona governors' judicial appointments," accessed October 16, 2020
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Maricopa County Bio
- ↑ Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review, "JPR Vote Results: Vote Meeting," June 24, 2016
- ↑ Maricopa County 2012 Unofficial Election Results
- ↑ Arizona Courts, "Judicial Performance Review Commission Announces Official Performance Ratings for Judges," August 7, 2012
- ↑ AZ Central, "Judge won't overturn Gov. Doug Ducey's order closing some Arizona bars," September 8, 2020
- ↑ Phoenix News Times, "Arizona Bars Will Take Appeal to Supreme Court if Necessary, Says Lawyer," September 10, 2020
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
