United States District Court for the District of Arizona

• Court
• Judges

District of Arizona Ninth Circuit Chief: Roslyn Silver Judges: 8 Posts: 13 Vacancies: 5 Active judges Bolton • Campbell • Collins • Jorgenson • Snow • Wake • Zipps Senior Judges Broomfield • Bury • Carroll • Marquez • Martone • McNamee • Rosenblatt • Strand • Teilborg • Zapata Magistrate Judges Anderson • Duncan • Burns • Voss • Aspey • Irwin Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona is the United States district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Arizona. Court is held in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott.

The United States Attorney for the District of Arizona represents the United States in civil and criminal litigation in this court.

When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse, but hears initial appeals at the Richard Chambers Federal Courthouse in Pasadena, CA

Vacancy warning level

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona's vacancy warning level is currently set at orange. The court currently has five vacancies out of their thirteen posts, constituting 38% of their seats. There is one pending appointment for the district.

Jurisdiction

The Counties of Arizona (click for larger map)

The jurisdiction of the District of Arizona consists of all the counties in the state of Arizona. Court is held in the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Yuma, and Prescott. When decisions of the court are appealed, they are appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals based in downtown San Francisco at the James R. Browning Federal Courthouse, but hears initial appeals at the Richard Chambers Federal Courthouse in Pasadena, CA.

Cases heard

The District of Arizona has original jurisdiction over cases filed within its jurisdiction. These cases can include civil and criminal matters that fall under federal law.

Case load

Federal Court Case Load Statistics*

Year	Starting case load:	Cases filed:	Total cases:	Cases terminated:	Remaining cases:	Median time(Criminal)**:	Median time(Civil)**:	3 Year Civil cases#:	Vacant posts:##	Trials/Post
2010	5810	10304	16114	9553	6561	5.0	7.2	93(3.0%)	1.9	19
2009	4923	9274	14197	8288	5909	5.0	8.1	117(3.9%)	.0	16
2008	5548	7930	13478	8492	4986	6.2	9.0	184(6.4%)	8.8	16
2007	6161	8293	14454	8804	5650	6.6	9.9	188(6.1%)	.0	18
2006	7139	8959	16098	10091	6007	6.4	11.8	245(6.7%)	.0	16

*All statistics are taken from the Official Federal Courts' Website and reflect the calendar year through September.    **Time in months from filing to completion. #This statistic includes cases which have been appealed in higher courts.    ##This is the total number of months that any all judicial posts had spent vacant that year.

Clerk's office

The District of Arizona has five separate courthouses. Please consult the chart below for more information:

Branch	Address	Phone number	Hours
Flagstaff Division	U.S. District Court of Arizona 123 N. San Francisco Street, Suite 200 Flagstaff, AZ 86001	928-774-2566	8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Phoenix Division	Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse 401 W. Washington Street, Suite 130, SPC 1 Phoenix, AZ 85003-2118	602-322-7200	Courthouse Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM Clerk's Office Hours: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Prescott Division	U.S. Post Office Building 101 W. Goodwin Street Prescott, AZ 86303	928-445-6598	8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tucson Division	Evo A. DeConcini U.S. Courthouse 405 W. Congress Street, Suite 1500 Tucson, AZ 85701-5010	520-205-4200	Courthouse Hours: 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM Clerk's Office Hours: 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
Yuma Division	U.S. District Court of Arizona 325 W. 19th Street Yuma, AZ 85364	928-329-4766	8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

History

Court history

The District of Arizona was organized by Congress as one judicial district on June 20, 1910 with one authorized judgeship for the district. The district was then assigned over to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and became effective upon the admission of the State of Arizona on February 14, 1912. Over time 12 permanent judicial posts were added, with the addition of one temporary post for a total of 13 current posts.

Judicial posts

The following table highlights the development of judicial posts for the District of Alaska:

Year	Statute	Total Seats
June 20, 1910	36 Stat. 557	1
August 19, 1935	49 Stat. 659	2
May 19, 1961	75 Stat. 80	3
March 18, 1966	80 Stat. 75	4
June 2, 1970	84 Stat. 294	5
October 20, 1978	92 Stat. 1629	8
November 29, 1999	113 Stat. 1501	11
December 21, 2000	114 Stat. 2762	12
November 2, 2002	116 Stat. 1758	13

Notable cases

For cases in the District of Arizona, see United States Department of Justice-Arizona or the ASU-Arizona Cases and Court Rules.

• Lethal injection delay case  Judge(s):Neil Wake      *Robert Towery, et al v. Janice Brewer, et al No. CV-12-245-PHX-ROS

District of Arizona Judge Neil Wake denied a preliminary injunction that would have ceased, or at least delayed two executions due to changes for the lethal injection protocol by the Arizona Department of Corrections. Judge Wake has regularly ruled in favor of the Arizona Department of Corrections against the allegations put forth by the Federal Public Defender's Office, which asked for the delay in the executions of two men, Robert Moormann and Robert Towery. Moormann, 63, was executed on February 29th, 2012, whereas Towery, 46, was executed on March 8th, 2012. The new protocol, argued the federal defender, gave too much power to the Corrections Director Charles Ryan, as well as lessened the required qualifications of executioners, and eliminated the chance of a condemned prisoner to meet with his or her attorneys in person on the day they are scheduled to be executed. This request was denied by Judge Wake, who also ruled in December of 2011 that the Corrections Department never violated a prisoner's right in following their own department protocol. Moorman has been on the death row for 27 years for brutally killing and dismembering his adoptive mother Roberta when she was 74 years old, in addition to serving a life sentence for the kidnapping of an eight-year old girl in 1972. Towery is being executed for killing a man while he robbed his home in 1991.

• "Sheriff Joe" case  Judge(s):Murray Snow      *ORTEGA MELENDRES et al. v. Arpaio et al. No. CV-07-2513-PHX-GMS

Judge Snow presided in case on whether to impose sanctions on controversial Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arapio and his department. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Department was sued over its alleged widespread use of racial profiling against Hispanics. On March 19, 2010, Judge Snow encouraged attorneys representing Maricopa County and affected immigrants who filed suit against the county to settle their case. This was after Judge Snow found grounds for federal sanctions against the sheriff's department for destroying records relating to immigration raids. The District of Arizona imposed a preliminary injunction against Sheriff Arpaio and his department, disallowing them from detaining individuals based on their suspicions of citizenship. This decision was reconsidered by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which affirmed the lower court.

• Arizona immigration law (S.B. 1070)  Judge(s):Susan Bolton      *USA v. State of Arizona No. CV 10-1413-PHX-SRB

The United States Department of Justice took the state of Arizona to court in order to stop its bill on immigration from taking effect July 29, 2010. In the ruling, Bolton upheld parts of the law, while striking down some of its more controversial aspects. In summary, parts of the law that were upheld: the State can restrict local officials from creating "sanctuary city" policies that limit enforcement of the law; Arizona state officials will work with the federal government on illegal immigration; and it is a crime to employ day laborers, often illegal immigrants that wait for work in public areas. Parts of the law blocked by the decision: The State cannot criminalize individuals for failing to have alien registration papers on them; Arizona cannot authorize "the warrantless arrest of a person" if law officials believe she or he is in the county illegally. The State of Arizona appealed the ruling in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The Ninth Circuit upheld Bolton's ruling on April 1, 2011. Read the Ninth Circuit opinion here: USA v. State of Arizona Arizona counter-suit On October 21, 2011, Judge Bolton dismissed a lawsuit filed by Governor Jan Brewer against the federal government. The lawsuit was filed as a counter-suit to the one filed by the Justice Department challenging Arizona's immigration law. In her suit, Gov. Brewer claimed that the federal government was not doing enough to protect the state from illegal immigration. Judge Bolton dismissed the suit saying that Gov. Brewer's charges were political questions not appropriate for a court to decide. In addition, Judge Bolton said that some of the state's claims must be thrown out because they were answered in a 1994 court case in Arizona and cannot be litigated again. Judge Bolton wrote, "While Arizona may disagree with the established enforcement priorities, Arizona’s allegations do not give rise to a claim that the counter-defendants (the federal government) have abdicated their statutory responsibilities."

• Medical marijuana  Judge(s):Susan Bolton      *State of Arizona v. U.S. 11-cv-1072

Judge Bolton dismissed a lawsuit on January 4, 2012 filed by Arizona claiming a state law passed by voters in 2010 that legalized medical-marijuana put state workers at risk for federal prosecution and imprisonment due to conflict with federal drug law. Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, who opposed the measure, had sought to block the creation of marijuana dispensaries allowed by the law - claiming that state employees charged with regulating the dispensaries were at risk for federal prosecution. Bolton ruled that the state had not established a “genuine threat of imminent prosecution” and dismissed the case. A spokesman for Governor Brewer's office expressed great disappointment over the ruling. Joe Yuhas, spokesman for the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association, said of the ruling, “We would hope that our state leaders will now recognize it is time to stop wasting taxpayer dollars in an effort to thwart the will of the voters and move ahead with full implementation of the initiative."

• Petland puppy mill case  Judge(s):David G. Campbell      *Martinelli et al. v. PETLAND, INC. and Hunte Corporation No. CV-09-529-PHX-DGC

Judge Campbell dismissed a lawsuit against Hunte Corporation on February 3, 2010, after six pet owners alleged that Petland Stores who sold the puppies distributed by Hunte came from puppy mills. The judge dismissed the case over finding that the plaintiffs in the case failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hunte engaged in illegal conduct. The case was part of a series of cases filed by the Humane Society of the United States.

• Alleged sham Green Party candidates  Judge(s):David G. Campbell      *Arizona Green Party et al. vs. Ken Bennett et al. 2:10-cv-01902-DGC

In September 2010, the Green Party requested that the names of nine candidates not endorsed by the party be removed from the general election ballots in Arizona. The lawyer for the Green Party alleged that the candidates were recruited by Republicans to restrict the number of votes that could have potentially gone to Democrats. As evidence, he presented that the public positions of the candidates are contrary to the policies supported by the party he represents. Judge Campbell ruled that removing the candidates from the ballot would not be fair to the candidates before a full hearing on the merits of the case occurs. This, in effect, allows counties in the state to begin printing its ballots as planned.

• Arizona campaign finance  Judge(s):Roslyn Silver      *McComish v. Brewer No. CV-08-1550-PHX-ROS
On January 20, 2010, Judge Silver ruled that portions of Arizona's matching campaign funds law was unconstitutional. The judge ruled that the law violates the First Amendment of the Constitution on the premise that it restricts campaigns from spending their own money.

• Arizona abortion ban  Judge(s):James Teilborg

In July 2012, Judge Teilborg agreed with the State of Arizona's law restricting abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. He found it constitutional on the basis that women are still able to obtain an abortion, and because the state explained that the fetus could feel pain after that amount of time. Previously, Arizona had banned abortions after viability, a difference of four weeks. Two groups announced their intention to appeal the decision to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, stating that Judge Teilborg's ruling ignored constitutional precedent.

• English in Arizona schools  Judge(s):Raner Collins

Judge Collins presided in a case involving the legality of the extent of how English is taught in Arizona public schools. On December 21, 2009, the judge rejected a claim from the Arizona Department of Public Instruction and the Arizona Legislature over teaching methods of English in the Nogales Unified School District. Collins dismissed the claim, stating there was not enough to evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the school district's teaching methods violated federal standards.

Federal courthouse

Five separate courthouses serve the District of Arizona.

Major news

For new stories and other related material see Arizona judicial news.

See also

• United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

External links

• United States District Court for the District of Arizona Official Website
• United States Attorney for the District of Arizona Official Website
• Judges of the District of Arizona
• Opinions of the District of Arizona

References

District of Arizona Ninth Circuit Chief: Roslyn Silver Judges: 8 Posts: 13 Vacancies: 5 Active judges Bolton • Campbell • Collins • Jorgenson • Snow • Wake • Zipps Senior Judges Broomfield • Bury • Carroll • Marquez • Martone • McNamee • Rosenblatt • Strand • Teilborg • Zapata Magistrate Judges Anderson • Duncan • Burns • Voss • Aspey • Irwin Former Judges

Key: (Numbers indicate % of seats vacant.) 0% 0%-10% 10%-25% 25%-40% More than 40%

Since the court was established, 36 Article III federal judges have served on it.

Active judges

Article III judges

See: Article III federal judge
The United States District Court for the District of Arizona has 13 posts and 5 vacancies. The current Chief Judge is Roslyn Silver. This is a list of the current judges on the court:

Judge	Born	Home	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Preceeded	Bachelors	Law
Judge Susan Bolton	1951	Philadelphia, PA	Clinton	10/13/2000 - Present		Robert Broomfield	U. of Iowa, B.A., 1973	U. of Iowa College of Law, J.D., 1975
Judge David G. Campbell	1952	Salt Lake City, UT	W. Bush	7/15/2003 - Present		New Seat|116 Stat. 1758	U. of Utah, B.S., 1976	U. of Utah College of Law, J.D., 1979
Chief Judge Roslyn Silver	1946	Phoenix, AZ	Clinton	10/11/1994 - Present	2011 - Present	Earl Carroll	U. of California at Santa Barbara, B.A., 1968	Arizona State U. College of Law, J.D., 1971
Judge Raner Collins	1952	Malvern, AR	Clinton	8/3/1998 - Present		William Browning	Arkansas Polytechnic College, B.A., 1973	U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1975
Judge Cindy Jorgenson	1953	Fort Ord, CA	W. Bush	3/6/2002 - Present		New Seat|113 Stat. 1501	U. of Arizona, B.S., 1974	U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1977
Judge Murray Snow	1959	Boulder City, NV	W. Bush	7/23/2008 - Present		Stephen McNamee	Brigham Young U., B.A., 1984	J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young U., J.D., 1987
Judge Neil Wake	1948	Phoenix, AZ	W. Bush	3/15/2004 - Present		Paul Rosenblatt	Arizona State U., B.A., 1971	Harvard Law School, J.D., 1974
Judge Jennifer Zipps	1964	Ashland, OH	Obama	10/5/2011 - Present		John Roll	U. of Arizona, B.A., 1986	Georgetown U. Law Center, J.D., 1990

Pending appointments

The United States District Court for the District of Arizona has 1 appointee pending and 5 vacancies. This is a list of the current pending appointees to the court:

Judge	Confirmation	Bachelors	Law
Rosemary Marquez		U. of Arizona, B.A., 1990	U. of Arizona Law, J.D., 1993

Senior judges

See: Federal judges on senior status
The United States District Court for the District of Arizona has 10 judges on senior status currently. This is a list of the current senior judges on the court:

Judge	Appointed by	Active	Chief	Senior	Bachelors	Law
Senior Judge Robert Broomfield	Reagan	7/11/1985 - 8/12/1999	1994 - 1999	8/12/1999 - Present	Pennsylvania State U., B.S., 1955	U. of Arizona, LL.B., 1961
Senior Judge Earl Carroll	Carter	6/30/1980 - 10/10/1994		10/10/1994 - Present	U. of Arizona, B.S., 1948	U. of Arizona College of Law, LL.B., 1951
Senior Judge Stephen McNamee	H.W. Bush	6/4/1990 - 10/1/2007	1999 - 2006	10/1/2007 - Present	U. of Cincinnati, B.A., 1964	U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1969
Senior Judge Paul Rosenblatt	Reagan	6/11/1984 - 10/30/2003		10/30/2003 - Present	U. of Arizona, A.B., 1958	U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1963
Senior Judge Roger Strand	Reagan	7/22/1985 - 4/28/2000		4/28/2000 - Present	Hamilton College, B.A., 1955	Cornell Law School, LL.B., 1961
Senior Judge Frederick Martone	W. Bush	12/21/2001 - 1/30/2013		1/30/2013 - Present	College of the Holy Cross, B.S., 1965	U. of Notre Dame, J.D., 1972
Senior Judge James Teilborg	Clinton	10/13/2000 - 1/30/2013		1/30/2013 - Present		U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1966
Senior Judge David Bury	W. Bush	3/19/2002 - 12/31/2012		12/31/2012 - Present	Oklahoma State U., B.S., 1964	U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1967
Senior Judge Frank Zapata	Clinton	8/1/1996 - 8/3/2010		8/3/2010 - Present	U. of Arizona, B.A., 1966	U. of Arizona College of Law, J.D., 1973
Senior Judge Alfredo Marquez	Carter	6/30/1980 - 7/25/1991		7/25/1991 - Present	U. of Arizona, B.A., 1948	U. of Arizona College of Law, LL.B., 1950

Magistrate judges

Judge	Active	Bachelors	Law
Magistrate Judge Lawrence Anderson	05/10/1990 - Present
Magistrate Judge David Duncan	06/14/2001 - Present
Magistrate Judge Michelle Burns	02/23/2007 - Present
Magistrate Judge Mark Aspey	03/18/2005 - Present
Magistrate Judge Hector Estrada	4/4/2005 - Present
Magistrate Judge D. Thomas Ferraro	12/30/2008 - Present
Magistrate Judge Steven Logan	01/30/2012 - Present
Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Marshall	07/11/2001 - Present
Magistrate Judge Charles Pyle	06/28/2001 - Present
Magistrate Judge Bernardo Velasco	09/29/2000 - Present
Magistrate Judge James F. Metcalf	11/21/2011 - Present
Magistrate Judge John Buttrick	08/17/2012 - Present

Past judges

Former Chief judges

Judge	Term
James A. Walsh	1961 - 1972
Charles Muecke	1979 - 1984
Walter Craig	1973 - 1979
William Browning	1990 - 1994
Richard Bilby	1984 - 1990
Stephen McNamee	1999 - 2006
Robert Broomfield	1994 - 1999
John Roll	2006 - 2011

In order to qualify for the office of Chief Judge in one of the federal courts, a judge must have been in active service on the court for at least one year, be under the age of 65, and have not previously served as Chief Judge. A vacancy in the office of Chief Judge is filled by the judge highest in seniority among the group of qualified judges. The Chief Judge serves for a term of seven years or until age 70, whichever occurs first. The age restrictions are waived if no members of the court would otherwise be qualified for the position. Unlike the Chief Justice of the United States, a Chief Judge returns to active service after the expiration of his or her term and does not create a vacancy on the bench by the fact of his or her promotion. See 28 U.S.C. § 45.

These rules for Chief Judges in the federal judiciary have been in effect since October 1, 1982. The office of Chief Judge was created in 1948. Until August 6, 1959, the position was filled in each federal court by the longest-serving judge who had not elected to retire on what has since 1958 been known as senior status or declined to serve as Chief Judge. From then until 1982 it was filled by the senior such judge who had not turned 70.

Former judges

1. William Henry Sawtelle
2. Richard Elihu Sloan
3. Fred Clinton Jacobs
4. John Roll
5. Mary Murguia
6. Albert Morris Sames
7. David Ling
8. Richard Bilby
9. William Browning
10. William Copple
11. Valdemar Cordova
12. Walter Craig
13. Arthur Davis
14. William Frey
15. Charles Muecke
16. Mary Richey
17. Howard Speakman
18. Charles Hardy
19. James A. Walsh