Bill Montgomery (Arizona politician)

Montgomery at an event in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2006, Montgomery ran for Arizona Attorney General, losing to incumbent Terry Goddard.[7]

In the 2010 special election to replace Andrew Thomas who resigned to run for Arizona Attorney General, Montgomery defeated interim county attorney Rick Romley in the Republican Primary.[8] Montgomery went on to defeat Libertarian Michael Kielsky in the general election.[9][10]

Montgomery won election to a full term in 2012 in a rematch against Kielsky.[11] He won re-election again in 2016 against Democrat Diego Rodriguez[12] despite George Soros spending nearly $2 million to defeat him.[13]

In January 2019, Montgomery applied for an appointment to a vacancy in the Arizona Supreme Court.[14] The commission did not pass Montgomery's name to the governor, which is required for a judicial apportionment, citing "concerns over the pattern of misconduct at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and a lack of relevant professional experience". However, the commission failed to properly conduct the required background investigation and inappropriately questioned him about his religious views.[15][16]

In June 2019, Montgomery applied for a second vacancy on the Arizona Supreme Court.[17] This time, after Governor Doug Ducey was able to replace several members of the state judicial nominating commission, resulting in a thorough review of his qualifications,[18] Montgomery's name was sent to the governor, who selected him for the supreme court seat on September 4, 2019.[19] Montgomery was sworn into office on September 6, 2019.[20][21]

Opinions

Opinions authored by Justice Montgomery may be viewed at: https://www.azcourts.gov/opinions