03 March 2019

Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery Misses High Appointment to Arizona Supreme Court



Hard to keep up with all the actions of current and former County Attorneys, except to say that the current County Attorney must be dis-appointed in his higher ambitions.
According to Phoenix New Times, Bill Montgomery did not make the cut for a shortlist of Arizona Supreme Court
County Attorney Bill Montgomery Misses Shot for Arizona Supreme Court
Joseph Flaherty | March 1, 2019 | 6:04pm
[Shortlist of the five candidates is farther down in post]
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"On Friday, the Arizona Commission on Appellate Court Appointments announced a shortlist of five candidates the commission has recommended to Governor Doug Ducey.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery, the influential Republican politician overseeing one of the most populous counties in the nation, did not make the cut.
The candidates submitted to the governor include three judges from the Arizona Court of Appeals, a Pima County Superior Court judge, and an attorney at the well-known law firm Snell and Wilmer. Three nominees are Republicans and two are Democrats."
Montgomery was one of 11 applicants for retiring Justice John Pelander's seat on the Supreme Court. In December, Pelander told the governor he intends to step down on March 1. Ducey will review applications from a judicial nominating commission before selecting the new Supreme Court justice, who will be the governor's fourth appointment to the bench.
> Earlier reports said that Montgomery had reached out to past Supreme Court applicants, including nearly every member of the Supreme Court, and as many commissioners on the nominating commission as possible before the application deadline.
It would "be foolish not to reach out to folks who had been successful, who had applied in the past, to see how they had answered some of the questions," Montgomery said.
> Vacancies on Arizona's high court are reviewed first by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. From a field of 13 candidates, Montgomery and 10 others advanced to the interview phase last week, as the Arizona Capitol Times reported. After the interviews, the commission will send at least three candidates to Ducey for him to choose Pelander's replacement.
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The governor selected Bolick – an activist libertarian attorney with the Goldwater Institute and a registered independent – for his first pick in 2016. He then tapped Arizona Court of Appeals judge Andrew Gould and solicitor general John Lopez IV the same year after the Legislature approved a bill expanding the court from five to seven justices.
The shortlist of Supreme Court nominees in alphabetical order submitted to the governor is below. Ducey has 60 days to select his appointment
1 James P. Beene, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
2 Kent E. Cattani, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
3 Maria Elena Cruz, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
4 Richard E. Gordon, Pima County Superior Court
5 Andrew M. Jacobs, Snell and Wilmer, LLP
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About Joseph Flaherty
Staff writer at New Times. Originally from Wisconsin, he is a graduate of Middlebury College and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
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Back in 07 Nov 2016 an article in The Nation:
This Arizona Prosecutor Is Waging a Strange War on Weed—and That’s Just the Beginning
Bill Montgomery is up for election tomorrow.
By Jessica Pishko 
" . . . And while Montgomery is a change from his disgraced predecessor, he maintains that his office does not commit misconduct, even though a study from Harvard Law School’s Fair Punishment Project found that Maricopa County leads the nation in death sentences, nearly a quarter of which involved misconduct by the prosecutor’s office. . ."
Reference: https://www.thenation.com
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Official Bio: Bill Montgomery
Maricopa County Attorney's Office
Title: County Attorney
Phone: 602-506-3411
Contact the County Attorney
Bill Montgomery was first elected Maricopa County Attorney in a Special Election in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 on a pledge to fight crime, honor victims' rights, and protect and strengthen our community. As a West Point Graduate, decorated Gulf War Veteran, former Deputy County Attorney and a professional prosecutor, he has dedicated his personal and professional life to serving others.

Bill earned his J.D. from ASU's College of Law, graduating Magna Cum Laude and receiving the Order of the Coif. As a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, he quickly gained a reputation as a tough but fair prosecutor and served as the Bureau Chief of the Auto Theft Bureau before becoming County Attorney.

As our County Attorney, Bill is committed to vigorously prosecuting crimes and holding criminals accountable. He believes in the responsible application of Arizona's tough sentencing laws to ensure violent and repeat criminals are kept away from our fellow citizens and communities while seeking innovative strategies to deal with issues such as substance abuse and mental health. He is committed to partnering with law enforcement along with business and civic leaders to protect and strengthen communities, and has been an outspoken advocate for protecting children.

Bill has also helped shape legislation designed to protect victims of crime and reform Arizona's child welfare system, to include the creation of the Office of Child Welfare Investigations and helped create the Department of Child Safety. Bill continues to be a passionate advocate for Crime Victim Rights in Arizona and he also recognizes a citizen's right to defend his or her family without fear of prosecution.

Bill currently resides in Chandler, Arizona with his wife and their children. 
 
 
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