Legislature again weighs expanding Arizona Supreme Court

• The Arizona Constitution requires the Supreme Court to have a minimum of five justices
• The state Constitution allows the Legislature to increase the number of justices as needed
• An attempt to increase the Supreme Court bench in 2015 was unsuccessful

A Republican lawmaker has proposed expanding the state’s highest court, a move that could amplify Doug Ducey’s impact on the judiciary long after he's left the Governor’s Office.

Rep. J.D. Mesnard, R-Chandler, cites population growth and the volume of legal cases as motivating his call to increase the number of Arizona Supreme Court justices to seven from five. The state last added justices in 1960.

Governors appoint justices in what is considered among their most important decisions, given jurists' six-year tenures and impact on important issues — including the death penalty and Constitutional questions ranging from education funding to campaign finance. The court issued about 30 decisions and opinions in 2015.

"I think there's merit ... to spreading that power among more people, more minds, and I also think there's something to be said for greater diversity, which you can have when you have seven people as opposed to five," Mesnard said.

"We're closing in on 7 million people in the state. We've grown considerably since we changed it from three (justices) to five (justices). The vast majority of states that are comparable to us — even some that are smaller than us — are at seven, some are even at nine," he added.

But the proposal, which passed the House and has moved to the Senate, is being met with strong resistance from Democrats in the Legislature. The court itself has not taken a position on the legislation, a spokeswoman said. But last year, in response to an identical plan that failed to advance in the Legislature, a court official said it did not support the idea.

The Arizona Constitution requires the Supreme Court to have at least five justices, but allows the Legislature to add justices as needed.

Democratic House Minority Leader Eric Meyer, of Phoenix, said increasing the number of justices is unnecessary and suggested it's an attempt to pack the court with conservative-leaning jurists.

"We don't really have a (caseload) problem," he said. "And quite frankly, right now, it would mean Ducey would be appointing more of the justices, which could potentially be a problem for our state moving forward. He's going to obviously pick very conservative justices that might not reflect the state's values."

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The expansion could cost about $1 million, Meyer said, citing a fiscal analysis of last year's bill.

That analysis by the Joint Budget Legislative Committee concluded expansion would cost $925,400 from the state's general fund, plus one-time costs of $60,400 for furniture and equipment. If the new justices were located outside of Maricopa County, analysts estimated there may be extra costs of $25,000 per justice for travel reimbursements.

Last year, Jerry Landau, director of government affairs for the Arizona Supreme Court, testified against the bill to expand the court.

"We just do not believe it's needed: The court is current in its cases," Landau said. "There's nothing that we are seeing that's going to lead to a greatly increased caseload."

Court spokeswoman Heather Murphy said the court is waiting to meet with the Arizona Judicial Council, a policymaking body that oversees the judicial system in Arizona, before weighing in on the current proposal.

A spokesman for Ducey's office did not respond to The Arizona Republic's request for comment on the bill.

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Doug Cole, a staffer in previous gubernatorial administrations and a former member of the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments, said the importance of judicial nominations cannot be understated.

"Court appointments are legacy appointments for any governor," said Cole, who sits on the Judicial Performance Review Commission, which sets performance standards for judges appointed through the merit selection process. "These men and women that a governor appoints ... will be there long after a governor has served their term."

Follow the reporter on Twitter @yvonnewingett and reach her at yvonne.wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.