Who are the Arizona Supreme Court justices? What to know

Editor's note: This story was updated in February 2025 after the appointment of Justice Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court.


Until this month, the justices on Arizona’s Supreme Court were all appointed by Republican governors. But after the retirement of Justice Robert Brutinel last fall, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs selected her first justice, appointing Maria Elena Cruz to join the high court.

Cruz, who was selected from a list submitted by the nonpartisan Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, is the first Latina and first Black woman to serve on the state Supreme Court. Her appointment helps to balance a court that had been stacked by Republican governors. Five justices were appointed by former Gov. Doug Ducey, who expanded the court from five justices to seven. Another was appointed by former Gov. Jan Brewer.

The Arizona Supreme Court court decides whether to review lower court decisions and acts as the ultimate power among state courts. It also evaluates misconduct charges made against attorneys with the State Bar of Arizona.

Justices are required to have been admitted to practice law in Arizona and have been a resident of Arizona for 10 years. According to law, they must retire at age 70. In 2023, all seven justices made at least $205,000, with the chief justice making $7,000 more annually for overseeing “the administrative operations of all the courts in Arizona,” according to the Arizona Judicial Branch. Every five years, the justices decide among themselves who takes on the chief role.

The Arizona Supreme Court has made several consequential decisions in recent years. Last year, it voted 4-2 to reinstate an 1864 near-total abortion ban, which the Arizona Legislature later repealed. The Arizona Supreme Court has shot down bogus lawsuits attempting to overturn election results in the 2020 presidential and 2022 gubernatorial contests, among others. That earned all seven justices a censure from the Maricopa County Republican Party for not handing victories to Republicans who did not win.

In another notable decision, the court decided a tax cut for the wealthy passed by Republicans and signed by Ducey could not be challenged in a referendum by organizers or decided on directly by voters. The court also ruled Kanye West could not appear on the ballot in the 2020 presidential race.

Here’s what to know about each Arizona Supreme Court justice.

Chief Justice Ann Timmer

Timmer has been a member of the Arizona Supreme Court since October 2012, when Brewer appointed her. She became vice chief justice of the court in 2019 then chief justice this July, just months after the abortion ruling.

After becoming chief justice, Timmer penned an op-ed for the Arizona Republic in which she lamented public perception of judges as “liberal” or “conservative” and discussed ideas for building more trust in the courts. Timmer's sister, Laurie Roberts, is a columnist for the Arizona Republic and has not been afraid to rebuke the court.

Timmer disagreed with Ducey’s appointees in the abortion case, voting against reinstating the near-total ban.

Prior to her appointment, Timmer served on the Arizona Court of Appeals for 12 years and was its chief judge for three. In 2022, Timmer was retained as a justice by Arizona voters, meaning she’s eligible to serve another four years. If retained in 2028, she could only serve until 2030, when she’ll reach mandatory retirement age.

Vice Chief Justice John Lopez IV

Lopez, a Ducey appointee, joined the court in 2017 as its first-ever Latino. Before that, he was solicitor general for the state of Arizona, representing the state in court. He also worked for the United States Attorney's Office for more than 12 years and for six months was a legal advisor in Iraq for the prosecution of Saddam Hussein, according to KTAR.

Lopez wrote the majority decision for the case reinstating Arizona’s territorial-era law outlawing abortion in almost all cases. He is the only justice up for retention during the next election in 2026. He wouldn’t reach retirement age until 2038.

Justice Clint Bolick

Ducey appointed Bolick to the court in 2016. He’ll face his second retention election this year after voters chose to keep him on the bench in 2018. The passage of Prop. 137 would save his seat even if voters chose not to retain him, although Bolick is 66 and will have to retire before the end of his next term anyway.

If anyone stands a chance to be recalled by voters in this election, it’s Bolick. Progress Arizona is leading a campaign to unseat Bolick and King, who both voted for the reinstatement of the abortion ban. In a Republic op-ed, Bolick argued that voters would be politicizing the court for calling for his ouster. Republic columnist EJ Montini called it a “paltry appeal,” noting the court already is politicized.

On Oct. 21, the education advocacy group Arizona Save Our Schools submitted a formal complaint against Bolick to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct over comments the justice made while campaigning for his retention. Standing next to a cardboard cutout of former President Donald Trump at a Sun City West Republican Club event, Bolick said he would keep “fighting for conservative principles.” The complaint argues Bolick violated provisions of the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct by not seeking to appear impartial and independent.

Bolick is married to state Sen. Shawnna Bolick, a Republican who also is running for reelection in North Phoenix. Rep. Bolick was one of the few GOP lawmakers to join Democrats in a vote to repeal the Civil War-era law.

Justice Kathryn King

King is the most recent appointee to the court, named to the bench by Ducey in 2021. She’s up for her first retention vote on the November ballot. She’s one of the court’s youngest members and could serve in the court for the next several decades.

Before joining the court, King was a partner at BurnsBarton PLC, where she specialized in defending companies in labor and employment disputes. She was also deputy general counsel for Ducey from 2015 to 2017. King is a graduate of Phoenix’s Xavier College Preparatory. Her father was a corporate and securities attorney, according to the Associated Press.

Justice Bill Montgomery

Since being appointed to the court by Ducey in 2019, Montgomery has been the most notorious of the court’s seven justices. Phoenix New Times reported that Montgomery wrote in a since-deleted 2017 Facebook post that Planned Parenthood was responsible for “the greatest genocide known to man.” Only after public pressure and media reports about Montgomery’s history of anti-abortion activism did he agree to recuse himself from the abortion case this year.

Prior to joining the court, Montgomery served as the Maricopa County Attorney for almost all of the 2010s, where he was known for his tough-on-crime posturing and his vocal and influential opposition to criminal justice reform. Montgomery also held strong anti-marijuana beliefs, referring to marijuana enthusiasts as “potheads” who he said were a “drag on this country.” After a Vietnam veteran explained how he used marijuana for back pain, Montgomery responded, “I have no respect for you.”

Montgomery’s current term ends in 2028, when he will be up for a retention vote if Prop. 137 fails this November.

Justice James Beene

Before Ducey appointed Beene to the court in 2019, Beene spent two and a half years as an Arizona Court of Appeals judge and seven as a Maricopa County Superior Court judge. Beene was one of four justices who voted to reinstate the 1864 territorial law.

Voters retained Beene in 2022. He has until 2028 to face voters again and until 2035 when he would be forced to retire from the court.

Justice Maria Elena Cruz

Cruz was appointed by Hobbs in January and sworn in on Feb. 3. Her appointment fills the void left by the retirement of Justice Robert Brutinel, who was appointed by Jan Brewer in 2010 and served as chief justice from 2019 to 2024.

After obtaining undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Arizona, Cruz spent her career working in Yuma County, which covers the southwestern corner of the state. She was first a prosecutor for the county before practicing criminal defense and then becoming a judge pro-tem for the Cocopah Indian Tribe.

In 2008, Cruz was elected as a Yuma County Superior Court judge and eventually became the presiding judge of the court. She joined the Arizona Court of Appeals in 2017 after being appointed by Ducey.