Governor Katie Hobbs announced she will name Court of Appeals Judge Maria Elena Cruz to the state Supreme Court. Cruz will be the first Latina and Black justice to ever serve on the highest court in Arizona.

Cruz emphasized the historic nature of her appointment when speaking to reporters in a press conference.

“The Arizona Supreme Court began to operate on February 14 of 1912,” Cruz said. “113 years and 49 justices later, I will be only the sixth woman to serve in this position, I'll be the first Latina, and the first person of African descent.”

Cruz has been working in the Arizona legal system for over two decades. After receiving her juris doctor from the University of Arizona in June 2001, she went onto work for both public prosecution, then later public defense, in Yuma County.

After operating her own private practice through most of 2005, she moved from arguing in front of the bench to being behind it, serving as a judge for the Cocopah Indian Tribe.

In 2009, she joined the Yuma County Superior Court as a judge, where she worked for eight years. Finally, in 2017, she was appointed to her current role as a member of the Arizona Court of Appeals by former Governor Doug Ducey.

Her wide range of experience in Arizona’s court system was cited by the Governor as a key reason in the decision to select Cruz.

“Her decades of work reflect not only her legal expertise, but her deep understanding of the people she serves,” Hobbs said in a statement.

According to the Governor, there was widespread and bipartisan support for Cruz.

“Support for Judge Cruz was bipartisan and overwhelming,” Hobbs said. “We received letters from the entire Yuma County Board of Supervisors, Yuma Mayor Doug Nicholls, Yuma County Sheriff Wilmot, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, state legislators, tribal leaders and countless lawyers, judges and other leaders from across the state.”

Cruz will also add a different type of diversity to the court: geographical diversity. Once sworn as a Justice, she will be the only member on the bench not from the heavily urban Maricopa County.

The importance of adding a new member from another of the state’s counties, especially a more rural one like Yuma, to the state Supreme Court was expressed by Chief Justice Ann Timmer.

"There is no rural perspective on what the law is, however, there is a tremendous need for Rural perspective on the regulatory aspects of the court,” Timmer said. “So having someone from Yuma, and a former Superior Court Judge to boot, is a tremendous boon to our court.”

Cruz will be filling the vacancy left on the court by the retirement of former Justice Robert Brutinel back in October 2024. She is also the first appointment to the state Supreme Court made by a democrat governor since 2005.