Meet the Justices

Home > AZ Supreme Court > Meet the Justices

Meet the Justices

Seven justices are appointed by the governor to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court. They may stand for retention to regular terms of six years. One justice is selected by fellow justices to serve as chief justice for a five-year term. In addition to handling case work, the chief justice oversees the administrative operations of all the state courts in Arizona.

Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer

Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer became Chief Justice on July 1, 2024. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona, her J. D. magna cum laude, from Arizona State University Law School (now the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law), and a Masters in Judicial Studies from Duke University Law School. Justice Timmer joined the Arizona Supreme Court in 2012 and was elected by her colleagues as Vice Chief Justice in 2019. Prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court bench, Justice Timmer served on the Arizona Court of Appeals for 12 years, serving as its chief judge for three years.

Vice Chief Justice John R. Lopez IV

Justice John R. Lopez IV was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court in November 2016 and took the bench in January 2017. Previously, he was Solicitor General for the State of Arizona in the Office of Attorney General where he handled civil lawsuits and appeals, as well as criminal appeals. He worked in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Phoenix for over 12 years serving in various roles, including Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney and Chief of Financial Crimes and Public Integrity Section. Before joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, he worked as a civil litigator at a Phoenix law firm for several years.

Justice Clint Bolick

Justice Clint Bolick was appointed by Gov. Doug Ducey in January 2016 to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court and was retained by the voters in 2018 and 2024. Prior to joining the Court, Justice Bolick litigated constitutional cases in state and federal courts from coast to coast, including the U.S. Supreme Court. Among other positions, he served as Vice President for Litigation at the Goldwater Institute and as Co-founder and Vice President for Litigation at the Institute for Justice. He has litigated in support of school choice, private property rights, freedom of speech, and federalism, and against racial classifications and government subsidies.

Justice James P. Beene

Justice James Beene was appointed to the Arizona Supreme Court in 2019. Prior to his appointment, he spent two and a half years on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, and seven and a half years on the Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County. Justice Beene began his legal career as a trial prosecutor, first working at the Pinal County Attorney’s Office, then at the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and the Peoria City Prosecutor’s Office. He went on to work as an appellate attorney at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office in the Capital Litigation Section and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office as the Appeals Bureau Chief. Justice Beene has argued numerous cases before the Arizona Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of California at Santa Barbara and his law degree from the University of Arizona.

Justice William G. Montgomery

Prior to Justice William G. Montgomery’s appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court in 2019, he served as the Maricopa County Attorney beginning with a special election in 2010. Before assuming elected office, Justice Montgomery served as a Deputy County Attorney, as well as practicing civil law with a local insurance defense firm and advocacy work on behalf of victims of crime. Justice Montgomery earned a B.S. degree and received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Army from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1989. He received his law degree from Arizona State University in 2001.

Justice Kathryn H. King

Kathryn H. King was appointed to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court in 2021 and in 2024 was retained by voters for a six-year term. Prior to her appointment, she practiced in the areas of labor and employment law and commercial litigation, first as an attorney at Snell & Wilmer and later at BurnsBarton. She also worked as Deputy General Counsel in the Office of Governor Ducey, where she advised on various constitutional, statutory, and other legal requirements of the Governor’s Office. Justice King graduated from Duke University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. She then obtained her law degree from the University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law.

Justice Maria Elena Cruz

Justice Cruz has served on the bench since 2005 and is the first justice of Latina and African descent to serve on the state’s highest court. Prior to her appointment to the Arizona Supreme Court, she served as a judge on the Cocopah Tribal Court, Yuma County Superior Court, and Arizona Court of Appeals. Justice Cruz obtained her J.D. from the University of Arizona’s James E. Rogers College of Law and has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Arizona. She began her practice of law as a prosecutor in Arizona at the Yuma County Attorney’s Office, prosecuting felony offenders. Later, she practiced in criminal defense, eventually venturing into solo practice.

Justices in court room

VIEW JUDICIAL HISTORY