Arizona Supreme Court

Justice Clint Bolick

Appointed to the State Supreme Court in 2016 after former governor Ducey increased the number of judges so his hand-picked selections would support his own political agenda even though the sitting justices on the Supreme Court were unanimously against “court packing.” Justice Bolick has consistently held a very conservative position, most notoriously in the recent decision upholding an 1864 law which made obtaining an abortion a criminal offense. He had no judicial experience prior to his appointment. He previously worked as the vice president of litigation for the Goldwater Institute and served on Ducey's transition team. He chairs the Maricopa County Commission on Judicial Nominations, the first step to becoming a superior court judge. At the present time, there are four independents, four Republicans, three Democrats, and three vacancies on the Commission. If you want to get in on the ground floor on new judges in any of the “retention” counties, and sit on the Commission, good luck. The Vic is still trying to find out how to do that.

Justice Kathryn King

Justice Kathyrn King joined the majority in finding that the 1864 law was still enforceable. Although she has never held a judicial position, she clerked for Arizona Supreme Court Justice Michael D. Ryan and then went to work for several firms which specialized in employer oriented labor relations, a euphemism for firms that try to prevent unions from organizing or limit the power of existing unions. In 2015, she became deputy general counsel to Governor Ducey, and in March 2020, Ducey appointed King to the Arizona Board of Regents. She resigned from the Board in 2021, and in July 2021, she was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court. She is a member of the Federalist Society, a right-wing legal organization which has had great influence in US Supreme Court appointments under Republican presidents. Six out of the nine members of the United States Supreme Court are members of the Federalist Society, and the Society lobbied the Republican Congress strongly in support of their nominations. To be fair, she was also a member of the Arizona Advisory Civil Rights Board for four years.

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Angela Paton

Appointed by Governor Ducey. Paton was featured at a Federalist Society symposium on Originalism and the Arizona Constitution in 2022. Her appointment was highly controversial since her husband, lobbyist Jonathan Paton sits on the Appellate Court Judicial Nominating Commission. Her husband Jonathan was hired by the Arizona Judges Association help write and pass Proposition 137 which will eliminate judicial retention elections, give sitting judges, including Clint Bolick and Kathryn King lifetime appointments made retroactive, and create a mechanism for any legislator to instigate an investigation of any judge whose opinions the legislator doesn’t like.

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All candidates

Maricopa County Superior Court

Hon. Stasy Avelar

CEBV recommended Judge Avelara “Yes with Reservations”. The reservations are based on her low scores by Litigants, Witnesses, and Pro Per parties on integrity (22%), communications (24%), temperament (30%), and administration of the court (20%). The Vic believes that respect for the courts and the law are the basis for a democracy, but that the public won’t have respect for the court unless the courts have respect for litigants and their lawyers. Vote NO.

Hon. Scott Blaney

Judge Scott Blaney has been one of the stalwart defenders against the baseless and continuing assaults on the election system in Arizona by Kari Lake, Abe Hamada, and all the others MAGAmites trying to overturn democracy and the right to vote. CEBV recommended Judge Blaney “Yes with Reservations” based on his ruling against Governor Hobbs concerning the appointment of interim department heads to serve more than a year after the MAGA mite State Senate refused to confirm any of her department appointees. CEBV also has reservations based on reports that Judge Blaney, when serving as a JAG officer in the military, did not take adequate and effective action to investigate reports that members of the National Guard were harassing and intimidating homeless people from the official vehicles. Despite these reservations, the Vic says ‘Yes” because of his defense of our election system.

Hon. Christopher Coury

CEBV hit this one right on the head. Judge Coury ruled on the 2020 Invest in Ed initiative with a decision which was disdainful, contemptuous, and unprofessional, and which set such strict initiative petition requirements that even the State Supreme Court felt compelled to reverse him. He also presided over some of the Cyber Ninja proceedings and demanded that the Democratic Party post an unreasonable $1million bond.

Hon. David Garbarino

CEBV recommended Judge Garbarino a “Yes with Reservations”, the reservations based on his scores by Litigants, Witnesses, and Pro Per parties of 25% or below approvals on integrity, communications, temperament, and administration of the court. The public will have respect for the law and the legal system only if the legal system treats them with respect as well.

Hon. Michael Mandell

CEBV recommended Judge Mandell a “Yes with Reservations” based on his low scores by attorneys for legal ability, communications, and administration. None of these combined scores were above 21% approval.

Hon. Keith Miller

CEBV recommended Judge Miller a “Yes with Reservations” based on his scores by Litigants, Witnesses, and Pro Per parties of 23% or below on communications and temperament as well as low scores by attorneys for communications. Judge Miller was former Assistant Legal Counsel for Hillsdale College, a right-wing Christian college in Michigan (Full disclosure: the Vic subscribes to and reads their monthly publication.) Judge Miller also worked within AG Bronovich’s “Federalism Unit” to resist the Obama administration.

Hon. Timothy Ryan

CEBV recommended Judge Ryan a “Yes with Reservations” based on his scores by Litigants, Witnesses, and Pro Per parties of 21% on Integrity and 36% on temperament. See the Vic’s comment on respect for the public.

Hon. Scott Minder

CEBV gave Judge Minder a “YES,” but the Vic disagrees, based on his recent ruling on a challenge to Proposition 314 by several Hispanic organizations on the grounds that the proposition violated the “single subject” rule in the State Constitution. Four provisions deal with “illegal entry” in the state, a fifth one deals with penalties for fentanyl based crimes. Judge Minder used the Legislature’s “findings,” which are not part of the proposition, to bind them all together into a single purpose. The Vic takes the position that using a “finding” to join together different subjects in a proposition sets a dangerous precedent because all the Legislature needs to do in the future is just add some “finding” language that ties everything up and the proposition will pass judicial scrutiny. For the full story, go to the Arizona Mirror July 13, 2024 HERE.

Hon. Patricia Starr

CEBV recommended Judge Starr a “Yes with Reservations” based on a 2020 appearance as a guest speaker at a Federalist Society function sponsored by the Goldwater Institute to discuss the overturn of the Chevron Deference Doctrine, one of the goals of Project 2025.

Hon. Michael Valenzuela

CEBV recommended Judge Valenzuela a “Yes with Reservations”, the reservations based on his scores by Litigants, Witnesses, and Pro Per parties of 25% or below approvals on integrity, communications, temperament. See the Vic’s comment on respect for the public.

Pima County Superior Court

Hon. Kellie Johnson

In Sept. 2022, Judge Johnson ruled that the 1864 anti-abortion law codified in 1901, superseded the 15-week ban passed by the Legislature earlier that year. One day before the 15-week ban was to go into effect, Judge Johnson, relying on the US Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v Wade, lifted an injunction on the 1901 law which had been in effect since 1973, which essentially nullified the more recent action by the Legislature.

Hon. Scott McDonald

CEBV recommended Judge McDonald a “Yes with Reservations” based his appearance as a panel moderator at a Federalist Society function and his appearance as a featured guest at a Federalist Society mixer in 2018.

Hon. D. Greg Sakall

Judge Sakall is one of the most highly regarded Superior Court judges in Pima County. CEBV also gave Judge Sakall a “Yes with Reservations” based on his appearance as a guest speaker at a Federalist Society forum in 2022. The Vic strongly believes that the Federalist Society is a cancer that is eating away at the heart of our democracy, which is the basis of his “NO” recommendation.

Coconino County Superior Court

Hon. Cathleen Brown-Nichols

CEBV gives Judge Brown-Nichols a straight up “NO” because in July 2022, she was reprimanded twice for violating Arizona’s Code of Judicial Conduct. While the Vic doesn’t take violations of the Code lightly, one reprimand was for failing to sign and file court orders in a timely manner as required by court rules which she said resulted from inability to fully staff her office. The other reprimand was for entering an order directing that a man who was to be released from custody because there were no charges filed against him was instead sent to a psychiatric facility in another county without notifying his attorney. While no judge has the right just to lock someone up in a pysch ward, the full story shows that she made a real effort to get this person help that he obviously needed. Here’s the full story. https://arizonadailyindependent.com/2022/07/19/two-public reprimands-this-year-for-coconino-county-judge/

Pinal County Superior Court

All judges