Judge Maria Elena Cruz speaks to reporters during a press conference announcing that she'll be Arizona's next Supreme Court Justice on Jan. 29, 2025, in Phoenix. Photo by Caitlin Sievers | Arizona Mirror
Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday named Judge Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court, making her the first Latina and first Black high court justice in state history.
“Why should the courts not reflect the population?” Cruz told reporters on Wednesday.
Cruz is a Yuma County Democrat who has been a judge in Arizona since 2005, first as a superior court judge in Yuma and, since 2017, on the Arizona Court of Appeals. Cruz’s bid for the high court garnered bipartisan support, including the unanimous backing of the judicial screening panel that recommended five applicants to Hobbs. Cruz said that she has avoided politics most of her life and believes that she has support from both sides of the aisle because they’ve seen the work she’s done in their communities.
“I think it’s just an expression of peoples’ confidence in the work that I have done,” she said.
Hobbs is the first Democrat in more than 15 years to appoint a justice to the state Supreme Court, choosing Cruz to replace Republican Robert Brutinel, who retired at the end of October after 14 years on the high court. Five of the current justices — James Beene, Clint Bolick, Kathryn King, John Lopez IV and Bill Montgomery — were appointed by former Gov. Doug Ducey, who oversaw an expansion of the court by two seats, while Chief Justice Ann Timmer was appointed by former Gov. Jan Brewer.
During a press briefing to announce the appointment, Cruz told reporters that she brought with her to the state’s high court 20 years of experience as a judge, including service in superior court, the court of appeals and in Cocopah Tribal Court. Once a month, she still presides over the restitution court she started in Yuma, which ensures perpetrators of crimes pay the restitution ordered by the court to their victims.
Cruz pledged her loyalty to the rule of law, and said she also brings to the court the perspective of someone who grew up, lived and raised a family in rural Arizona as well as someone who understands the challenges of those marginalized because of their race or gender.
“I will do the work of applying the law fairly, but I will also do so while acknowledging that access to justice is limited, and there is much work to be done in ensuring that poverty or lack of education do not continue to be barriers for Arizonans in understanding the legal system,” Cruz said.
Hobbs praised Cruz’s background of hard work and dedication to serving the people of Arizona with expertise and professionalism, as well as her mentorship of aspiring lawyers.
“Judge Cruz, the attorney and judicial officer, is eminently qualified to serve on our state’s highest court, but Judge Cruz the person gives me confidence that she will be a justice who gives a voice to working class people in every corner of our state,” Hobbs said.
Cruz moved to Arizona from Puerto Rico with her parents — her father is Puerto Rican and her mother is from the Dominican Republic — when she was 14 years old. She didn’t speak any English when she arrived, but went on to earn a law degree from the University of Arizona and has lived in Yuma for more than 30 years.
“I’m humbled that you have placed your confidence and trust in me to carry out this important role for the people of our state,” Cruz said.
Timmer, a Republican, lauded Cruz’s adventurous spirit as well as her “academic heft and analytical ability” as a judge.
The chief justice added that Cruz also brings to the court a rural perspective on the Arizona Supreme Court’s oversight of lower courts and regulation of the practice of law.
“It is extraordinarily important to the court that everyone has equal access to justice and is able to accommodate the procedures and policies of the court,” Timmer said. “So, having someone from Yuma and a former superior court judge is a tremendous boon to our court.”
Cruz was surrounded by family — including her in-laws, her parents, her husband and adult children — as Hobbs introduced her as the next Arizona Supreme Court Justice.
Cruz acknowledged the political reality of judicial appointments made by elected officials, but said that it was freeing as a judge not to be obligated to a particular outcome, like she was as a litigator.
“A true, an honest judge and justice is going to look at the law openly, fairly, and give it a read that is faithful to its meaning, and that’s what I hope to be able to do,” Cruz said.
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