In appointing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to the Arizona Supreme Court, Gov. Doug Ducey has managed to politicize the last remaining vestige of integrity in state government: the judiciary.
This, without doubt, will be the shining accomplishment of Duceys eight-year run as governor.
At least it wasnt a surprise.
Ducey carefully and meticulously put the mechanism in place that assured he could get Montgomery onto the court, something he had to do after the previously neutral commission recommending candidates for the post found Montgomery unqualified.
Arizona had a reputation for selecting judges based on merit until now.
What Ducey did to get his hyper-political pal on the court took time, patience and a Republican-controlled Legislature.
First, he got Republican lawmakers to add two seats to the Supreme Court, even though the chief justice just said it wasnt necessary.
Then Ducey filled those positions with judges aligned with his political agenda.
Then he politicized a supposedly neutral system for selecting judicial candidates, transforming the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments to make sure the only people who make it through the state's supposedly neutral process would be the candidates Ducey wanted. Like, for instance, Montgomery.
He did this by dumping commission members who hadnt supported Montgomery and replacing them. To do this, Ducey had to pull another fast one. The commission which is meant to reflect the diversity of Arizonas population no longer has a single Democrat on it. So-called "independents" with Republican leanings got the jobs.
Attorney Mark Harrison, a past president of the State Bar of Arizona, said in an op-ed for the Arizona Capitol Times that views of commissioners reported in the media following Montgomerys first appearance before the commission indicate that he was regarded as one of the least qualified of those seeking an appointment to the Supreme Court.
He added, Arizona has a judiciary recognized nationally for its excellence. As the result of the merit selection system, Arizona has been spared the unseemly partisan elections fueled by millions of dollars of special interest money. If the governor wants his legacy to reflect his commitment to merit selection and to an impartial, nonpartisan judiciary, he will appoint one of the several highly qualified candidates on the list sent to him one without Montgomerys political baggage and lack of appellate experience.
So when Democrats do this it's painted in a positive light. When Republicans do this, it's called packing the court. Got it. ---
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