By Howard Fischer
Mail | X: @azcapmedia

PHOENIX — Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday placed the first Hispanic woman and the first Black ever on the Arizona Supreme Court.

The governor chose Maria Elena Cruz, now a judge on the state Court of Appeals, from among five names submitted to her by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. By law, she is required to choose from that list.

Cruz had been considered the odds-on favorite, and not only because she was the only nominee who got unanimous approval from the commission. It also enabled the governor to announce what her office called a “historic” moment for Arizona.

Hobbs bristled when asked about how important it was to her to choose a Black Latina.

“Do not insult with this question,” she responded. “She is eminently qualified.”

But Cruz said there is a good reason for having someone with her background who looks like her on the court.

“My question would be the opposite: Why should the courts not reflect the population?” she said. “Why should a state that is so diverse have a Supreme Court that looks like one racial aspect of our state.”

Cruz said that is obvious in looking at the history of the state.
“The fact that we’ve had 49 justices and only had five women does not engender trust from citizens in the court,” she said. There is one Hispanic: John Lopez, who joined the high court in 2017 after being tapped by then-Gov. Doug Ducey.

“The courts are an expression of people’s self governance, right?” Cruz said. “And if we are self-governing, then the court should be the ‘self.’”

And there’s something else. She pointed out the Arizona Constitution requires both the commission that screens applicants and the governor herself to “consider the diversity of the state’s population.”