ARIZONA JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSIONS
Merit Selection at Work

MERIT SELECTION IN ARIZONA

Arizona voters amended the State Constitution in 1974 to create a "merit selection and retention" system. The amendment requires the Governor to appoint appellate court judges statewide, and Superior Court judges in Maricopa and Pima counties, from a list of nominees submitted by a "judicial nominating commission." Merit selection is a way to avoid compromising judicial impartiality and integrity by forcing judges to solicit campaign contributions from attorneys and other persons who might someday appear before them in court.

In 1992, Arizona voters approved the first changes to the merit selection system since it was adopted in 1974. The changes expanded the membership of the judicial nominating commissions, and added requirements that the commissions hear public testimony and vote in public before making recommendations to the Governor. They also mandated that the commissions and the Governor consider the diversity of the state or county's population in making nominations and appointments.

There are three judicial nominating commissions in Arizona -- the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments and the Pima County Commission on Trial Court Appointments. Each commission has 16 members: 10 public members and 5 attorneys, plus the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court or a designated Supreme Court justice, who serves as a voting chairperson.

When a vacancy occurs, the appropriate commission announces that applications are being accepted. Applications must be filed on the form supplied by the commission. All commission members review the applications and investigate the applicants' qualifications. The commission then meets to decide which applicants will be interviewed. Further investigation of the selected applicants takes place before the interviews. After the interviews, the commission decides which candidates will be recommended to the Governor.

The commissions must submit at least three names to the Governor for each judicial appointment, with consideration given to ethnic, gender and geographic diversity. The primary consideration for judicial nominations is merit -- the candidate's professional qualifications. The Constitution provides that no more than 60 percent of the nominees on any given list may be members of the same political party.

If a commission does not submit nominations to the Governor within 60 days of the vacancy occurring, the Governor may appoint any qualified person to fill the judicial vacancy. Should the Governor fail to appoint one of the commission's nominees within 60 days after the names are submitted, the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court makes the appointment from the list of nominees.

Commission members are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. Public members may not be judges or practicing attorneys. Attorney members must have practiced law in Arizona for five years. All members must have resided in Arizona for at least five years. They may not hold any governmental office, elective or appointive, for profit. Members generally serve four-year terms.

When a vacancy occurs for a public member of a Trial Court Commission, the county board of supervisors member from the district in which the vacancy occurred appoints a nominating committee of seven persons from the district. Public notice is given that applications are being accepted for appointment to the commission. All applications, along with the committee's recommendations, are forwarded to the Governor.

When a public member vacancy occurs on the Appellate Court Commission, the Governor appoints a nominating committee of nine members who solicit and review applications, and forward the names of all applicants, along with the committee's recommendation, to the Governor.

Attorney members of the three commissions are recommended to the Governor by the State Bar of Arizona.

The 1992 amendments to the Constitution also added a requirement for periodic review of the performance of appointed judges. The Commission on Judicial Performance Review (JPR) was established to administer the performance evaluation process. The JPR Commission is charged with providing clear and accurate reports to the public about how well judges are doing their jobs in a report issued before each general election. Voters then decide whether the judges appointed under the merit selection process should remain in office.

The performance evaluation process includes surveys of jurors, witnesses, litigants, administrative staff and attorneys who have observed the judge at work. The public also provides input through written comments and public hearings.

Judges Appointed to the Bench under the Merit System:

• Initially hold office for a term ending 60 days following the next regular general election after the expiration of a term of two years in office.

• Participate in a retention election where voters indicate "yes" or "no" as to whether the judge should remain in office.

• If retained, serve a full regular term: four years for Superior Court or six years for appellate court. If a judge is not retained, the office is vacated upon the term expiring and the appropriate commission begins the nominating process to fill the vacancy.

LEARN MORE ABOUT:

The history and status of merit selection throughout the United States

The qualifications for serving as a judge in Arizona

How campaign fundraising has affected courts in other states . . .
• PBS Frontline Report - "Justice for Sale"
• The Nation - "The Buying of the Bench"