Adam Dorsey Driggs (born April 22, 1965) is an American attorney, politician, and , a judge of the

Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

Superior Court In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general jurisdiction over civil and criminal legal cases. A superior court is "superior" in relation to a court with limited jurisdiction (see small claims court), which is restricted to civil ...

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. Driggs previously served in both chambers of the

Arizona State Legislature The Arizona State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Arizona. It is a bicameral legislature that consists of a lower house, the House of Representatives, and an upper house, the Senate. Composed of 90 legislators, the ...

Early life and education

Born in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...

, Driggs is the son of John D. Driggs. He has five siblings. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

in 1990 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

from

Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (ASU Law) is the law school at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. Created in 1965 as the Arizona State Unive ...

in 1993.

Career

In 1995, in his first trial after passing the bar, Driggs represented Olympic athlete Ime Akpan in her appeal against the

International Amateur Athletics Federation World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international governing body for the sport of athletics, covering ...

represented by

David Pannick, Baron Pannick David Philip Pannick, Baron Pannick, (born 7 March 1956) is a British barrister and a crossbencher in the House of Lords and Blackstone Chambers. He practises primarily in public law and human rights and has argued high profile cases before the ...

QC. Driggs has been a small business owner since 1997. He was a prosecutor for Maricopa County Attorney's Office from 1995 to 1997. He was also a clerk at a law firm in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the sixth-most-populous city in the Americas. Founded in 1565 by the Portuguese, the city wa ...

and later was an Attorney at Driggs Law Group. In February 2017, Driggs was appointed as a judge to the Maricopa County Superior Court. Driggs was the recipient of the 2010 Legislator of the Year Award from the

Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry is an Arizona based chamber of commerce. Since 1974, the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been promoting statewide business advocacy at the Arizona Capitol and with the Arizona congression ...

. He was also chosen as the 2015 ''

Arizona Capitol Times The ''Arizona Capitol Times'' is a non-partisan, weekly newspaper covering state politics and government published every Friday in Phoenix, Arizona. The paper focuses on the Arizona Legislature, the state's politicians, government agencies and ...

'' "Best Republican Senator" in their annual awards presentation.

Personal life

Driggs and his wife, Leonore, have five children. Lenore Driggs is a justice of the peace for the Arcadia district in Phoenix.

Elections

* 2014 Incumbent Driggs was unopposed in the Republican primary. Driggs defeated Democrat

Kelli Butler Kelli Butler is an American politician and a former Democratic member of the Arizona House of Representatives elected to represent District 28 in 2016, until 2023. She is a member of the Maricopa County Community College District Governing Boar ...

and Libertarian Jim Iannuzo in the general election. * 2012 Incumbent Driggs was unopposed in the Republican primary. Driggs defeated Democrat Eric Shelley in the general election. * 2010 Driggs ran for the State Senate and defeated Rich Davis and Andrew Smigielski in the Republican primary and then defeated Democrat Rita Dickinson in the November 2 general election. * 2008 Driggs and Democrat Eric Meyer were elected to the 11th District Seat in the Arizona House of Representatives, defeating Republican Jon Altmann. * 2006 Driggs and Don Hesselbrock defeated incumbent John Allen in an upset in the Republican primary. In a second upset, Driggs and Democrat Mark Anthony Desimone defeated Hesselbrock in the general election.

References

External links

Arizona Senate – Sen. Adam Driggs
Official AZ Senate Site
Project Vote Smart – Senator Adam Driggs (AZ)
profile
Ballotpedia Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Driggs, Adam 21st-century members of the Arizona State Legislature 1965 births American expatriates in Brazil Arizona state senators Brigham Young University alumni Adam Dorsey Latter Day Saints from Arizona Lawyers from Phoenix, Arizona Living people Members of the Arizona House of Representatives Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law alumni