Among the nearly 100 bills delivered to Governor Katie Hobbs (D) by the Arizona State House on Monday is one relating to judge retainment elections.
House Bill (HB) 2757, sponsored by House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria), addresses judges from the Arizona Court of Appeals (ACOA), which has two divisions, one in Phoenix and the other in Tucson. The ACOA comprises 28 judges, with 19 in Division 1 and nine in Division 2. Under current law, these judges are first appointed by the governor for an initial term of two years, but after that point, judges can only retain their position if approved by the public in an election. However, the only citizens who can vote to keep an ACOA judge are those within the court’s division. So, when a Division 2 judge is up for election, only Pima, Pinal, Cochise, Santa Cruz, Greenlee, Graham, and Gila County residents can make that decision.
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