Bill Montgomery is officially an Arizona Supreme Court justice after being sworn-in during a private ceremony on the Ninth Floor Friday morning. 

With Montgomery on the high court now, it leaves open his seat as Maricopa County Attorney, which in the meantime will be filled on an interim basis by newly-appointed Chief Deputy Rachel Mitchell, of Justice Brett Kavanaugh fame, nearly one year to the day of that widely-viewed confirmation hearing. 

Mitchell confirmed to the Arizona Republic she intends to apply to be appointed as Montgomery’s replacement, which is ultimately up to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to pick the new county attorney. The appointee will hold the seat until the 2020 election. 

Supervisor Chair Bill Gates broke the news on Thursday of Montgomery’s resignation and announced the supervisors will hold a special meeting on Monday to “lay out the process to appoint the next Maricopa County Attorney.” 

Now that Montgomery is a Supreme Court Justice, Gov. Doug Ducey likely made his fifth and final appointment to the court. Chief Justice Robert Brutinel will remain as chief for five years and that would open the possibility for a possible retirement, though he is not mandated to retire until he turns 70 years old. Unless somebody resigns before they turn 70, Brutinel will be the next to leave in 2024. 

He and Bolick are the oldest justices at 61, but Bolick turns 62 later this year.