A panel that decides whether a judge or justice met standards necessary for the bench gave high marks to justices, appellate and trial court judges up for retention in 2024.  

The results come amid a rise in campaign activity as political action committees and groups across the political spectrum continue to wade into judicial retention elections. 

Two progressive PACS announced a joint effort to oppose the retention of Justices Clint Bolick and Kathryn King Monday, and another Republican PAC is gaining traction and support of key political figures to support the two justices. 

“There is more and more focus from various groups who are forming to participate in the process, which is their right to do,” Douglas Cole, vice chair of Judicial Performance Review, said. “We’re just trying to give voters as much information as we can.” 

Judicial retention elections, coming in tandem with a ballot measure to limit when judges and justices are made to stand for retention, have fixed judicial performance and political leanings under a microscope ahead of November. 

To evaluate judges, the Commission on Judicial Performance Review sends out surveys to litigants, attorneys, jurors, witnesses and court staff to assess judges on legal ability, integrity, communication, temperament and administrative performance. 

In April, based on the surveys, the commission voted on whether judges met standards and found only one trial court judge was not fit for the bench. 

The full survey results underpinning the commission’s decisions went out Monday and came as campaigns and counter-campaigns target the retention of King and Bolick.

About 99% of those surveyed lauded Bolick’s integrity and communication skills as satisfactory, superior, or very good; 98% said the same about his legal ability and judicial temperament. 

As for King, 96% found her judicial temperament and communication skills to be satisfactory or above, 94% greenlit her legal ability and administrative performance, and 90% of survey respondents found King had above-board integrity. 

The justices’ survey scores and the commission’s “meets JPR standards” designation will appear in the Secretary of State’s voter publicity pamphlet. The commission’s website houses the same, along with a link to full bios for all judges, and lists of decisions for appellate judges and justices. 

On the heels of survey results, a new PAC aimed at unseating Bolick and King made their campaign debut Tuesday. Protect Abortion Rights No Retention Bolick and King plans to make the justices’ ruling upholding the 1864 abortion ban the campaign centerpiece. 

The group is working in tandem with Progress Arizona, the first group to announce intent to campaign against the two justices, as well as Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. 

Abigail Jackson, digital director for Progress Arizona, said the two campaigns would join forces, with Progress Arizona handling a progressive voters guide.  

Meanwhile, Protect Abortion Rights No Retention Bolick and King is in nascent phases of fundraising and plans to run a traditional campaign, like taking out digital and direct ads, knocking on doors and attending events. 

And though leading with the abortion ruling, Morgan Finkelstein, spokesperson for the campaign, and DJ Quinlan, chair, said the group planned to wrap in the justices’ records on and off the bench. 

On Bolick’s part, Quinlan and Finkelstein pointed to education funding — given Bolick’s past work in litigation with the Goldwater Institute and lobbying for the Institute for Justice, and his ruling striking down Prop. 208, a 2020 voter initiative raising taxes on high-income households to pad school budgets and teacher salaries. 

For King, Jackson noted King’s past work as a corporate litigator, “helping employers squash lawsuits brought by their employees.” 

Nationally, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee and Planned Parenthood Votes pledged “at least $5 million” on state supreme court races, with mention of Arizona, though campaign finance shows no spending on judicial retention elections so far. 

Judicial Independence Defense PAC took shape to defend Bolick and King, and keep the current makeup of the state supreme court. 

The committee, chaired by Randy Kendrick, a Republican donor, Goldwater Institute board member and wife of Diamondbacks’ managing general partner, stated the goals are to “Keep Clint Bolick on the Arizona Supreme Court.” 

In the letter sent on July 25,  Kendrick sounded the alarm on efforts to oust Bolick and King, which she notes, when taken with the potential retirement of Robert Brutinel, could give Gov. Katie Hobbs “the chance to appoint as many as three liberal justices, which could give our Supreme Court a liberal majority for the first time.” 

On September 3, the committee circulated another letter from former Gov. Doug Ducey soliciting donations. Ducey expanded the court from five to seven justices in 2016 and appointed King and Bolick, as well as justices William Montgomery, John Lopez and James Beene during his two terms. 

Ducey wrote he “chose distinguished jurists of high character who I knew would uphold the law rather than legislate from the bench.” He warned Hobbs would replace King and Bolick, and Brutinel given retirement, with “liberal activist judges.” 

“That has the potential to shift the entire balance of power on the Court to the far left,” Ducey wrote. “Think for a moment what that would mean for Arizona. Liberals have already elected a Democratic governor, attorney general, and secretary of state, and are within just one seat each of controlling both the state house and state senate. If they were to seize control of the Arizona Supreme Court as well, they would enjoy unfettered control at every level of government.” 

As of July 20, Judicial Independence Defense PAC had $128,489 on hand. Progress Arizona reported no cash on hand at the time of the last campaign finance deadline. Protect Abortion Rights No Retention Bolick and King registered on August 13.