List of Judges up for Retention in 2024
AZ Supreme Court, AZ Court of Appeals, and Maricopa County Superior Court
10/18 UPDATE: Have added the four judges up for retention in Pinal County below, thanks to the Conelrad Group. The Lex Rex Institute has issued a video on how to research judges, so those in other states can do this as well (our methodology is at the end of our article).
10/22 UPDATE: Our person who was going to review the 16 judges in Pima County encountered some health problems, so we will probably not get to them, but the Democrats have put out a guide called Gavel Watch and said negative things about three judges for allegedly being conservative - Johnson, McDonald and Sakall. Please note that a whistleblower told us that Pima County began rigging judicial elections in 2014.
List of judges up for retention
Robing Room - provides opinions on judges, but many of them are just disgruntled litigants
Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review doesn’t provide much useful information about judges, and every single one up for retention passed their test
An X account tracking Maricopa County judges
RELATED: Vote YES on Prop. 137 to protect conservative judges - would also save two of our best conservative justices on the Arizona Supreme Court from a huge effort targeting them by the left. Read the measure here and another argument in favor. For a guide on how to vote on all of the propositions, see Sen. Jake Hoffman’s here.
NOTE: The left is spending huge amounts of money this election to defeat the two Arizona Supreme Court justices up for retention. This guide is not firmly stating vote yes/vote no on many of the judges up for retention, because the alleged Gov. Hobbs gets to replace any judge voted out - we’re leaving it up to you to decide whether to vote out a liberal Republican who might then be replaced with a commie.
COLOR CODING
Judges to vote no on will be in bright red
Judges we’re leaning against will be dark red
Judges to vote yes on will be bright green
Judges we’re leaning towards voting yes will be dark green
The name after each judge refers to the governor who appointed the judge; either Republicans Doug Ducey and Jan Brewer or Democrat Janet Napolitano. While there is a myth going around that judges are randomly appointed to cases, this is not accurate, the presiding judge makes these determinations — they know when they are assigning a case to an election fraud denier. It is currently Joseph Welty, who is not up for election.
Maricopa County Superior Court
-Jay Adleman - Brewer - Experts who know him says he does screwy things in criminal court - Allowed Stephen Richer’s defamation laws
uit against Kari Lake to go ahead, said her statements were provable as false-Sara Agne - Ducey - Really good appellate attorney, used to work for judges - Probably moderate
-Glenn Allen - Ducey - Very likable - Was a very good criminal defense attorney
-Stasy Avelar/Click - Ducey - Part of the liberal Republican family of wealthy car dealer owner Jim Click - Likely a moderate
-Justin Beresky - Ducey - One litigant said he issues biased rulings
-Scott Blaney - Ducey - Really smart - Rejected Abe Hamadeh’s election lawsuit as untimely - Refused to release the names of lower level election workers - Told City of Phoenix to clean up homeless - Ruled that Gov. Hobbs circumvented the legislature with director appointees
-Lori Bustamante - Brewer - Attended Grand Canyon University - Former prosecutor
-Rodrick Coffey - Brewer - Considered OK - Ruled that legislature decides whether possibly unqualified candidate can serve, not courts
-Suzanne Cohen - Brewer - Changed her party to get appointed, big Obama supporter, was prosecutor of Baseline killer/rapist
-Bruce Cohen - Napolitano - Assigned to prosecution of alternate electors
-Christopher Coury - Allowed the Senate 2020 audit of the election to go ahead - Rejected leftist attempt to get three elected officials thrown off the ballot due to their association with J6 - Tossed Prop. 208 out in 2020 that would have raised income taxes - Democrats launched an unsuccessful revenge campaign against him in 2020
-Quintin Cushner - Ducey - was registered Democrat until he was appointed.
-Jim Drake - Ducey - Experts say he leans liberal - Served as chief clerk of the Arizona House since 2015, was a deputy secretary of state from 2009 to early 2015, worked as rules attorney and in other staff jobs for the House from 1996 though 2009 - Election lawyer
-Adam Driggs - Considered a liberal Republican when he was in the legislature
-Ronda Fisk - Ducey - Was member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity where DEI is the theme - Was a partner with the heavily Democratic firm Osborn Maledon - Served on the board of Unity of Phoenix
-David Garbarino - Ducey - Was a Democrat until right before he was appointed in 2016
-Pamela Gates - Declined to block Ducey’s COVID-19 business restrictions, which closed bars while allowing restaurants to remain open and serve alcohol - Married to Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates - Designated a judge who had been appointed by Napolitano to oversee the Senate election audit case
-Michael Gordon - Napolitano - Awful decisions - Former criminal defense attorney who is anti-prosecution
-John Hannah - Napolitano - Considered the worst Democrat on the bench - Refused to let Kari Lake look at ballot affidavits and said offensive things about election fraud concerns, blocked her witnesses from testifying - Sanctioned the AZGOP for an election lawsuit and was overturned - Fined Cyber Ninjas $50k/day for not turning over records he claimed were public records, even though they’re a private entity - Cited for extreme bias against Republicans - Former criminal defense and election attorney
-Michael Kemp - Napolitano - Ruled that Cyber Ninjas must turn over records as public records, even though they’re a private entity - Refused to let prosecutors seek the death penalty against an illegal immigrant who killed a store clerk
-James Knapp - Ducey - Former DOJ prosecutor, attorney for ICE - Clerked for Republican appointed judge Sheldon H. Weisberg
-Margaret LaBianca - Ducey - changed party from NPD to Republican right before appointment - Considered a weak Republican - In case with Republican woman who voted in name of deceased mother, refused prosecution’s request to put her in jail for 30 days, gave her probation
-Todd Lang - Ducey - Although generally on the left, he’s considered one of the most fairest and pleasant judges
-Suzanne Marwil - Ducey - Experts say her calendars are a mess (check JPR)
-Scott McCoy - Napolitano - Considered nice, goes with the flow - Ruled against legislative Republicans, the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and Center for Arizona Policy on a challenge to the left’s Prop. 211 which requires disclosure of campaign donors - Ruled that a Democratic candidate could stay on the ballot, against his Republican opponent’s objection, even though he didn’t really live in the district, and even though McCoy’s wife had signed the candidate’s petition
-David McDowell - Ducey - Came from Rose Law Group which tilts slightly right
-Joseph Mikitish - Brewer - AZ Supreme Court reversed his ruling that the leftist Free and Fair Elections proposition qualified for the ballot - Granted temporary shutdown of Scottsdale gym for violating COVID-19 orders - However, he was former president of the right-leaning St. Thomas More Society - Difficult to work for, people quitting
-Keith Miller - Ducey - Was research assistant for the Heritage Foundation - Previous attorney and career services director for Hillsdale College - Ran as Republican for JP
-Scott Minder - Ducey - Ruled that Prop. 314, a border security referendum from the legislature, could stay on ballot
-Amanda Moncayo Parker - Ducey - Republican - Was law clerk to conservative US District Court Judge Michael Liburdi - Graduate of Grand Canyon University - Former prosecutor - Serves as a member of the Arizona State Bar’s Appointments Committee, recommending appointments to the Board of Governors for statewide boards and commissions
-David Palmer - Brewer - Considered OK - Former prosecutor
-Adele Ponce - Ducey - Clerked for a judge appointed by Barack Obama, Mary Murguia - Worked for UN International Criminal Tribunal - Former prosecutor
-Andrew Russell - Ducey - Considered a moderate - Clerked for Judge Noel Fidel of AZ Justice Project who was appointed to the bench by a Democrat, who is a past Board chair of Chicanos por la Causa and president of the Florence Immigrant and Refugee Rights Project
-Tim Ryan - Napolitano - Rejected GOP’s request to extend polling hours after massive problems with voting tabulators due to printer settings in 2022 election - Was so biased against prosecutors, especially regarding Proposition 100 illegal immigration cases, that conservative former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas unsuccessfully tried to get him removed from his cases - Leftist like his brother Tom Ryan, who is considered about the worst leftist attorney in Arizona - Recused himself from an election case after his brother called litigants Sen. Warren Petersen and Rep. Ben Toma names - Denied a request from Republican state lawmakers to block a voter-approved law on transparency in campaign financing
-Patricia Starr - Brewer - Considered a moderate - Was a Democrat until 1999 when she became a political independent - Clerked for Judge Jefferson Lankford, who was appointed to the bench by a Democrat - Ruled against conservative Superintendent of Schools Diane Douglas and wouldn’t let her fire any board employees - Served on the editorial board of the AZ Bar’s magazine - Former prosecutor
-Peter Thompson - Repeatedly ruled against Kari Lake’s election lawsuit, including refusing to allow her to argue several claims, and was reversed by the AZ Supreme Court on some - Ordered Lake to pay $33k in costs for her lawsuit
-Michael Valenzuela - Ducey - Vice President of the leftist Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association and heavily involved with it - Editorial board for the AZ Bar’s magazine
-Lisa Vandenberg - Ducey
-Ashley Villaverde Halvorson - Ducey - Democrat - President of the leftist Los Abogados Hispanic Bar Association - Received the State Bar of Arizona’s Diversity and Inclusion Leadership Award in 2020 - Serves on JS&H’s Mentorship Committee, Diversity Committee and chairs its diversity legal writing internship program - Interned for Democratic Rep. Ed Pastor and Gov. Janet Napolitano
-Lisa Wahlin - Ducey - Solid conservative, one of the best on the bench - Government attorney, attorney for law enforcement, instructor for the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy
-Kevin Wein - Ducey - Known for lenient criminal sentences - Serves on the board of Slow Foods, which is “focusing on more equitable food systems for Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) communities working in the food sector in Arizona” and “advocate[s] for positive public policy that forges the appropriate political, social, environmental and economic environment” - Follows Robert Livingston on LinkedIn, a racism expert
-Christopher Whitten - Napolitano - Ruled that ‘unborn human being’ was a biased way by Republican legislators to describe the pro-abortion proposition on the ballot this fall, was reversed by the AZ Supreme Court - Clerked for Judge John Claborne, who was appointed to the bench by two Democrats
Pinal County Superior Court
--Patrick Gard - Ducey - His rulings thus far supports enhanced punishments for repeat offenders
--Joseph Georgini - Not appointed by a governor - Have heard good things about him from conservatives - has been a religious education teacher, active in Catholic groups
--Jason Holmberg - Brewer - Former prosecutor
--Robert Olson - Ducey - Served as treasurer of the Arizona Democratic Party - A conservative attorney who has appeared in front of all four of these Pinal County judges said Olson is the only awful one
Arizona Court of Appeals
-Brian Furuya - Ducey - Served on the AZ bar board of governors for years, including recently as president - Former prosecutor
-Angela Paton - Ducey - Reversed a bad lower court decision by leftist Judge Hannah. Serves as a member of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on Character and Fitness regarding attorneys.
-Peter Eckerstrom - Napolitano - Far leftist - Allowed abortions to resume in Arizona despite old pro-life going into effect
-Christopher Staring - Ducey - Immediately prior to being appointed in 2015 he changed his party from NPD to Republican - Ruled that 11,000 voters in all mail-in election in Cochise County for jail tax who did not received a ballot were disenfranchised
Arizona Supreme Court
-Clint Bolick
-Kathryn King
Both Justice Bolick and Justice King voted in a recent election case involving the Arizona Republican Party to overturn sanctions against their attorneys, holding that the claims were legitimate and overturning the trial court's imposition of sanctions in part because it was a "political" lawsuit. This appears to have had a refreshing chilling effect on going after conservative election attorneys, with the AZ Bar disciplinary judge stating in an opinion dismissing bar complaints against Kari Lake’s two attorneys that the AZ Supreme Court has indicated it would not approve of sanctions.
After Roe v. Wade was reversed, Justices Bolick and King both voted with the majority to construe a recent abortion statute to leave intact the state’s old law prohibiting most abortions.
In Matthews v. Industrial Commission, Justice Bolick wrote a majority opinion embracing textualism as the proper method of constitutional interpretation, echoing the approach applied by USSC justices such as Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas.
In Rogers v. Mroz, Justice Bolick authored a 4-3 decision dismissing a defamation lawsuit against Sen. Wendy Rogers on freedom of speech grounds. He also joined a unanimous opinion dismissing a defamation action against radio talk show host James T. Harris.
In Brush 'n Nib Studio v. City of Phoenix, Justice Bolick authored a concurring opinion in a 4-3 ruling, on freedom of speech and religious liberty grounds, striking down the city's statute criminalizing a small business' refusal to provide custom wedding invitations for a same-sex couple.
In Gilmore v. Gallego, Justice Bolick wrote for a unanimous Court striking down the practice of union "release time," through which cities pay employees to work for their unions.
In State v. Tunkey, Justice Bolick authored a concurring opinion for four justices stating that courts should interpret the words of a statute rather than engaging in a "cosmic search" for legislative "intent."
In Roberts v. State of Arizona, Justice Bolick authored a majority opinion applying separation of powers to restrict the policymaking powers of state administrative agencies.
In State v. City of Tucson (2021), Justice Bolick dissented from the decision allowing Tucson to override a state law requiring alignment of election dates. In State v. City of Tucson (2017), he joined the Court's ruling striking down Tucson's ordinance requiring destruction of guns seized by the police. In both cases, Bolick took a textualist approach to the constitutional powers of charter cities, arguing they are always "subject to the laws of the state."
In State v. Board of Regents, Justice Bolick issued a unanimous decision restricting the Attorney General's powers to those expressly granted by statute.
In Trisha A. v. Department of Child Services and several other cases, Justice Bolick strongly dissented from rulings terminating parental rights without due process safeguards.
In Horne v. Polk, Justice Bolick wrote for a unanimous court striking down fines imposed against former Attorney General Tom Horne on due process grounds where the agency prosecutor and ultimate decisionmaker were the same person.
In Harold Vangilder v. ADOR/Pinal County, Justice King authored the majority opinion holding that Arizona law does not permit the county to adopt a two-tiered retail transaction privilege tax on personal property as part of a transportation excise tax. Thus, the county's new two-tiered retail transaction privilege tax is unlawful and invalid.
In State of Arizona v. Hon. Cooper/Bassett, Justice King authored an opinion dismissing post-conviction relief petition filed by Lonnie Bassett who shot and killed two people at age 16, was convicted on two counts of first degree murder, and was sentenced to natural life for one murder and life with possibility of parole after 25 years for the other murder. The court held that a line of US Supreme Court cases (Miller, Montgomery, and Jones) interpreting the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment did not require that Bassett receive a new evidentiary hearing/re-sentencing where the Superior Court judge had considered Bassett's youth and attendant characteristics when imposing Bassett's life-without-parole sentence. The US Supreme Court denied certiorari. Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented from the denial.
In San Carlos Apache Tribe v. State of Arizona, et al., Justice King authored an opinion affirming the issuance of a water discharge permit to Resolution Copper under the Clean Water Act, allowing Resolution to sink a new mining shaft to explore and study a new, large copper-ore body discovered under the eastern portion of the Magma Copper Mine.
In Zambrano v. M&RC II LLC, Justice King authored a dissenting opinion (joined by Justice Bolick) highlighting Arizona's public policy favoring freedom of contract. They disagreed with the majority's decision that parties may never waive the judicially-created implied warranty of workmanship and habitability and replace their contract with an express warranty with terms of their own choosing (regardless of the circumstances or sophistication of the parties).
While the AZ Supreme Court has a mediocre record on election integrity, it improved with the ruling halting the sanctioning of election attorneys. A ruling that many felt was erroneous was when the full court ordered Abe Hamadeh to pay over $50k in attorneys fees to Kris Mayes for trying to expedite his appeal and bypass the Court of Appeals in August of 2023. It took another year for Hamadeh’s case to return to the Supreme Court, where Hamadeh’s petition for review of his denied motion for a new trial in his 2022 election contest in the attorney general’s race is now pending.