26 up for 6 new spots on Pima County Superior Court bench

Twenty-six applicants are being considered for six new vacancies on the Superior Court in Pima County, after the court was expanded by Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Divisions 31 through 36.

In July, Hobbs approved the Pima County Board of Supervisors’ request to authorize six additional judgeships, adding Divisions 31–36.

The county’s growing population and an increasing number of cases being heard by the court prompted the expansion.

The salary of a Superior Court judge is $200,000.

The applicants are:

• René S. Alcoverde, Jr. – Democrat, chief judge, Tohono O’Odham Judicial Branch
• Caroline S. Allen – Democrat, assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona
• Luke E. Brown – Republican, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• Soo Conatser – Republican, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• Andrew B. Dysart – Republican, assistant attorney general, Arizona Attorney General’s Office
• Katie Filous Malka – Democrat, partner attorney, Mesch Clark Rothschild and former Pima County trial attorney
• Maribel Goodman – Republican, attorney supervisor, Pima County Attorney’s Office
• Mark A. Hotchkiss – Democrat, judge pro tempore, Pima County Superior Court and former bureau chief at the Pima County Attorney’s Office
• Marie D. Kagie-Shutey – Democrat, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• T. Clayton Kamm – Democrat, hearing officer, Pima County Superior Court
• Nicholas A. Knauer – Democrat, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• Derek J. Koltunovich – Democrat, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• Sarah L. Mayhew – Democrat, magistrate, Tucson City Court and former defense attorney
• Cody K. McAloney – Independent, attorney supervisor, Pima County Office of Children’s Counsel
• Maricela Meza – Democrat, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court and former employee relations director for Tucson Unified School District
• Tracy A. Miller – Republican, judge pro tempore, Pima County Superior Court and former bureau chief at the Pima County Attorney’s Office
• Nanette C. A. Morrow – Republican, bureau chief, Pima County Attorney’s Office
• Joshua Moser – Democrat, chief criminal deputy, Pima County Attorney’s Office
• Nicole P. Savel – Democrat, assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona
• Lisa Schriner Lewis – Democrat, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• Grant L. Stratton – Republican, attorney, Law Office of Grant L. Stratton, JD
• Christina M. Vejar – Independent, assistant U.S. attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona
• Katherine M. Voll – Democrat, attorney supervisor, Pima County Public Defender’s Office
• Dawn R. Walton – Democrat, commissioner, Pima County Superior Court
• Jayme L. Weber – Independent, senior litigation counsel, Arizona Attorney General’s Office
• Antonio L. Zapata – Democrat, legal advisor, Tucson Police Department

Applications can be viewed online at the commission’s website, azcourts.gov/jnc/Vacancy-Applications under the Pima County Superior Court dropdown menu.

The Pima County Commission on Trial Court Appointments will review applications and hear comments at a public meeting on Oct. 20.

Members of the public may address the Commission on the day of the meeting or send written comments via email to jnc@courts.az.gov or mailed to 1501 W. Washington, Suite 221, Phoenix, AZ, 85007. It is not necessary to submit multiple copies of written comments, and email is preferred. Comments must be received no later than Oct. 15 to be considered. Anonymous comments cannot be considered.

The commission will select the applicants to be interviewed at the Oct. 20 meeting, and they will then be interviewed on Nov. 9-10.

After the interviews, the commission will recommend at least three nominees for each opening to Hobbs, who will appoint the new judges within 60 days.