Upholding Arizonans’ Right to Hold the Judiciary Accountable

The Goldwater Institute represents four plaintiffs, all Arizona voters who have been wrongfully denied the right to vote in retention elections for Court of Appeals judges residing in other areas of the state.

Bonnie Knight resides in Yuma County and may only vote on the retention of judges residing in Division 1, excluding Maricopa County. Deborah McEwen resides in Santa Cruz County and may only vote on the retention of judges residing in Division 2, excluding Pima County. Sarah Ramsey resides in Pima County and may only vote on the retention of Court of Appeals judges who also reside in Pima County. Likewise, Leslie White, a resident of Maricopa County, may not vote on the retention of Court of Appeals judges who reside outside Maricopa County.

Each of these plaintiffs should be able to vote on the retention of all Court of Appeals judges statewide because Court of Appeals judges issue statewide decisions.

Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is sued in his official capacity because under the state constitution the Secretary of State’s office receives judicial retention candidate declarations and certifies to the county boards of supervisors which candidates’ names shall appear on the ballot. The State of Arizona is also a defendant in the lawsuit.

The case was filed in the Superior Court of Arizona in and for Maricopa County on January 8, 2024.

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Andrew W. Gould is a Partner at Holtzman Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC. He has partnered with the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation in this matter.

Gould served as a Justice on the Arizona Supreme Court from 2016 until March 2021. Prior to his service on the Supreme Court, he was a Judge on Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals from 2012 to 2016 and a Judge of the Superior Court in Yuma County from 2001 to 2011.

Gould received his J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law in 1990. In 1994, he became a Deputy County Attorney, prosecuting major criminal cases for Yuma and Maricopa Counties. He served as Chief Civil Deputy for the Yuma County Attorney’s Office from 1999 to 2001. Justice Gould has previously served on the Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Technology and as the President of the Arizona Judges’ Association. He has also taught at the Judicial Conference and New Judge Orientations and has served as an adjunct professor at Arizona State University Law School.