The Arizona Court of Appeals is the intermediate

appellate court An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appel ...

for the state of

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 ...

. It is divided into two divisions, with a total of twenty-eight

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

s on the court: nineteen in Division 1, based in Phoenix, and nine in Division 2, based in

Tucson Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

History

The Arizona constitution was amended in 1960 to authorize a court of appeals, which the legislature created in 1964. The original judges were elected in November 1964. The first judges were James Duke Cameron, Henry S. Stevens, and Francis J. Donofrio for Division 1, and Herbert F. Krucker, John F. Molloy, and James D. Hathaway for Division 2. Only one judge after the original six received their seat by election. After the introduction of merit selection in 1975, judges are appointed by the governor to fill vacancies or new positions. Three-judge panels were added to Division 1 in 1969, 1974, 1982, and 1989. Another judge was added in 1995 "so that the Chief Judge could devote time to the court's increasing administrative workload." Division 2 added three judges in 1985. Six more judges were added in 2022, three for each division.

Jurisdiction

The Court of Appeals has

jurisdiction Jurisdiction (from Latin 'law' and 'speech' or 'declaration') is the legal term for the legal authority granted to a legal entity to enact justice. In federations like the United States, the concept of jurisdiction applies at multiple level ...

to consider appeals in

civil cases Civil law is a major "branch of the law", in common law legal systems such as those in England and Wales and in the United States, where it stands in contrast to criminal law.Glanville Williams. ''Learning the Law''. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 19 ...

, including juvenile and

domestic relations In the common law tradition, the law of domestic relations is a broad category that encompasses: * divorce; * property settlements; * alimony, spousal support, or other maintenance; * the establishment of Paternity (law), paternity; * the establ ...

matters, from the

Arizona Superior Court The Superior Court of the State of Arizona is the Arizona state court of general jurisdiction. Jurisdiction The Constitution of Arizona provides the Superior Court with jurisdiction over: * concurrent jurisdiction over cases and proceedings in w ...

. The court also reviews

workers’ compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

and

unemployment benefits Unemployment, according to the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), is the proportion of people above a specified age (usually 15) not being in paid employment or self-employment but currently available for work d ...

decisions,

tax court Tax courts are courts of limited jurisdiction that deal with tax issues. Notable examples include: *United States Tax Court, a United States federal court ** List of Judges of the United States Tax Court ** Uniformity and jurisdiction in U.S. fede ...

decisions, and certain corporation commission decisions. The court also has jurisdiction over appeals in criminal matters from superior court, except for cases in which a

death sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

has been imposed. Death penalty cases go directly to the

Supreme Court of Arizona The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice ...

. The court may also decide "petitions for special action," which is Arizona's term for petitions for special

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

s, such as

certiorari In law, ''certiorari'' is a court process to seek judicial review of a decision of a lower court or government agency. ''Certiorari'' comes from the name of a prerogative writ in England, issued by a superior court to direct that the recor ...

mandamus A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, o ...

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, and

interlocutory appeal An interlocutory appeal (or interim appeal) occurs when a ruling by a trial court is appealed while other aspects of the case are still proceeding. The rules governing how and when interlocutory appeals may be taken vary by jurisdiction. United St ...

Procedures

Selection of judges

Judges are selected by a modified form of the

Missouri Plan The Missouri Plan (originally the Missouri Nonpartisan Court Plan, also known as the merit plan, or some variation) is a method for the selection of judges. It originated in Missouri in 1940 and has been adopted by many states of the United State ...

. A bipartisan commission considers applicants and sends a list of nominees to the governor. The

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

is required by law to appoint from this list based on merit, without regard to party affiliation. Judges are then retained for an initial period, after which they are subject to a

retention election A retention election or retention referendum is a referendum where voters are asked if an office holder, usually a judge, should be allowed to continue in that office. The judge is removed from office if a majority of votes are cast against rete ...

. If the judge wins the election, his/her term is six years.

Deciding cases

The Court of Appeals decides cases in panels of three judges, called "departments." Each department chooses a presiding judge from among the three. Each division also has a Chief Judge and Vice Chief Judge, elected by all judges in the division.

Divisions

While the Court of Appeals is divided into two geographic divisions in Phoenix and Tucson, the superior courts are bound by all of the Court of Appeals decisions, regardless of the division they are issued in. An Arizona trial court is not required to give greater precedent to a Court of Appeals decision from the division it is located in then a decision from the other division. * Division 1 consists of Maricopa, Yuma, La Paz, Mohave, Coconino, Yavapai, Navajo and Apache counties. * Division 2 consists of Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham and Gila counties. At least ten judges of Division 1 must be residents of

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 ...

and five residents of the remaining counties. Four may be from any county. At least four judges of Division 2 must be residents of

Pima County Pima County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the south central region of the U.S. state of Arizona, one of 15 List of counties in Arizona, counties in the state. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 1 ...

and two residents of the remaining counties. Three may be from any county. Division 1 has statewide responsibility for appeals from the Industrial Commission and unemployment compensation rulings of the Department of Economic Security. One department of Division 1 is responsible for appeals from the Tax Court.

Court members

The members of Arizona Court of Appeals Division 1, by order of seniority,2018 Annual Review
/ref> include: The members of Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 2 include:

Former judges

Several court of appeal judges were elevated to the

Arizona Supreme Court The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justi ...

, including: James Duke Cameron (1965–1971), Robert J. Corcoran (1981–1988), Ruth McGregor (1989–1998), Michael D. Ryan (1996–2002), Rebecca White Berch (1998–2002), Ann Timmer (2000–2012), Andrew Gould (2012–2017), James Beene (2017–2019), and

Maria Elena Cruz Maria Elena Cruz (born 1972) is an American lawyer who has served as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court since January 29, 2025. Cruz served on the Arizona Court of Appeals from 2017 to 2025. Early life and education Cruz was born in New York, ...

(2017-2025). Other notable former judges include: * Gary K. Nelson (1974–1978), former

Arizona Attorney General The Arizona attorney general is the chief legal officer of the State of Arizona, in the United States. This state officer is the head of the Arizona Department of Law, more commonly known as the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The state attorn ...

. * Mary M. Schroeder (1975–1979), current Senior Judge on the

Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts for the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

. *

Sandra Day O'Connor Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O' ...

(1979–1981), former

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

. * Sarah D. Grant (1982–1999). * Jon W. Thompson (1995–2019), died in office. *

G. Murray Snow Grant Murray Snow (born October 20, 1959) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. Snow was previously a state court judge on the Arizona ...

(2002–2008), current

District Judge District Judge may refer to: * A United States federal judge, appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate * A judge in a state court (United States), where the state is divided into judicial districts * * A judge in the district courts ...

. * Diane Johnsen (2006–2019).

Notes

References

External links

Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 1 website

Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 2 website
{{State Intermediate Appellate Courts

Court of Appeals An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear a case upon appeal from a trial court or other lower tribunal. Appellat ...

State appellate courts of the United States Courts and tribunals with year of establishment missing