Arizona lawmakers approve addition of 2 state supreme court justices, while some question motives
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Arizona senators Monday voted to add two justices to its five-member state supreme court.
Some say the move is political, Arizona Daily Star reports, and blame Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican. Arizona’s 18 Republican state senators voted in favor of the bill.
“This is the executive making a power grab over the judiciary. If you don’t like the decisions the Supreme Court is making, you don’t pack the court,” said Stephen Farley. A senator from Tuscon, he’s one of 12 Democrats in the state senate, all of whom voted against the court expansion.
Don Shooter, a Republican state senator from Yuma, said more justices on the court will lead to better decisions.
“In a multitude of counselors, there is wisdom,” he told the newspaper.
Out of the five Arizona Supreme Court justices, four were appointed by Republican governors, according to the article. The most recent appointment, made by Ducey in January, went to Clint Bolick. A registered independent with a significant career in libertarian public-interest litigation, Bolick will face a retention election in two years, the Washington Post reported.
Scott Bales, the court’s chief justice, is its only Democrat. He was appointed by former governor Janet Napolitano.
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