Arizona Court of Appeals

The Arizona constitution was amended in 1960 to authorize a court of appeals, which the legislature created in 1964.

After the introduction of merit selection in 1975, judges are appointed by the governor to fill vacancies or new positions.

The governor is required by law to appoint from this list based on merit, without regard to party affiliation.

The Court of Appeals decides cases in panels of three judges, called "departments."

[5] Division 1 has statewide responsibility for appeals from the Industrial Commission and unemployment compensation rulings of the Department of Economic Security.

[7] The members of Arizona Court of Appeals Division 1, by order of seniority,[8] include: The members of Arizona Court of Appeals, Division 2 include: Several court of appeal judges were elevated to the Arizona Supreme Court, including: James Duke Cameron (1965–1971), Robert J. Corcoran (1981–1988), Ruth McGregor (1989–1998), Michael D. Ryan (1996–2002), Rebecca White Berch (1998–2002), Ann Timmer (2000–2012), Andrew Gould (2012–2017), James Beene (2017–2019), and Maria Elena Cruz (2017-2025).