Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) appointed a new justice to serve on the Arizona Supreme Court, marking the first time a Democratic administration has been given the chance to influence the state’s high court in two decades.

Arizona's new Supreme Court Justice xxxxxxx, has strong ties to the University of Arizona. Cruz earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the school in 1998 and a law degree

Maria Elena Cruz, a state appeals court judge, is the first Latina and first Black Arizonan to serve on the state’s most influential bench.

YUMA COUNTY, Ariz. — Gov. Katie Hobbs has selected Arizona Court of Appeals Judge Maria Elena Cruz to fill a seat on the Arizona Supreme Court. Cruz, a Democrat from Yuma County, was announced Wednesday as the governor's choice to fill a seat vacated by Justice Robert Brutinel last year.

Gov. Katie Hobbs on Wednesday named Judge Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court, making her the first Latina and first Black high court justice in state history.

PHOENIX -- Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs appointed Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court on Wednesday, making the state appellate judge from Yuma County the first Latina and first Black person chosen for the state’s high court.

Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday placed the first Latina and the first Black ever on the Arizona Supreme Court. While in private practice, Cruz also served as a judge for the Cocopah Indian Tribe before being elected to Yuma County Superior Court in 2008.

Another of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' nominees is out of the running for confirmation, according to a list the Governor's Office sent to the state Senate on Friday. Hobbs did not nominate her ...

Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has appointed Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court. The state appellate judge from rural Yuma County will become the first Latina and the first Black person chosen for the state’s high court.

The appointment of Maria Elena Cruz broadens the racial, geographic and political diversity of the seven-member, Republican-dominated court.

Experts say cultivating genetic diversity and mitigating Phoenix’s urban heat island must occur to protect native plants.

Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday placed the first Hispanic woman and the first Black ever on the Arizona Supreme Court.