Bill Montgomery (Arizona politician)

William "Bill" Montgomery (born March 2, 1967) is a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.[2] He previously served as the County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona from 2010 to 2019.

William Gerard Montgomery
Associate Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
Assumed office
September 6, 2019
Appointed byDoug Ducey
Preceded byScott Bales
28th County Attorney of Maricopa County
In office
November 22, 2010 – September 5, 2019
Preceded byRick Romley (Acting)
Succeeded byRachel Mitchell (Acting)[1]
Personal details
Born (1967-03-02) March 2, 1967
Lynwood, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
Arizona State University, Tempe (JD)

Early life

Montgomery is a West Point graduate and a Gulf War veteran. He graduated from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law in 2001.

Career highlights

During Montgomery's tenure, the county attorney's office gained national recognition for its Restitution Specialist and Sex Assault Backlog programs.[3]

From 2010-2015, under Montgomery, Maricopa County sought a higher ratio of death sentences than 99.5 percent of counties in the United States.[4]

Montgomery has called for formal written protocols to address use of force incidents[5] and serves as the Arizona State Director for the National District Attorneys Association.[6]

In August 2019, attorneys for Jodi Arias filed an ethics complaint against Montgomery, claiming he covered up misconduct and harassment by the lead prosecutor on the case.[7]

Political views

In 2015, Montgomery refused to follow a state law and provide legal assistance for a gay couple who were adopting, even after a federal judge ruled that Arizona’s law banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. Montgomery later lobbied the state legislature to repeal the statute requiring that adopting couples receive free legal help, but Governor Ducey vetoed the legislation.[8]

Montgomery has been a leading opponent of cannabis reform efforts in the state of Arizona. He has made a number of controversial comments on the subject, including telling a military veteran who spoke in support of legalization: "I have no respect for you... because you're an enemy."[9] He has also sought to overturn the state's medical cannabis law that was approved by voters in 2010.[10]

Montgomery has lobbied against criminal justice and sentencing reform,[11] including a 2017 bill that reformed the state's civil asset forfeiture policies.[12]

Elections

Arizona Attorney General
Montgomery at an event in Phoenix, Arizona.

In 2006, Montgomery ran for Arizona Attorney General, losing to incumbent Terry Goddard.[13]

Maricopa County Attorney

In the 2010 special election to replace Andrew Thomas who resigned to run for Arizona Attorney General, Montgomery defeated interim county attorney Rick Romley in the Republican Primary.[14] Montgomery went on to defeat Libertarian Michael Kielsky in the general election.[15][16]

Montgomery won election to a full term in 2012 in a rematch against Kielsky.[17] He won re-election again in 2016 against Democrat Diego Rodriguez.[18]

Arizona Supreme Court appointment

In March 2019, Montgomery applied for an appointment to a vacancy in the Arizona Supreme Court.[19] The commission did not pass Montgomery's name to the governor, which is required for a judicial apportionment, citing "concerns over the pattern of misconduct at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and a lack of relevant professional experience".[20][21]

In June 2019, Montgomery applied for a second vacancy on the Arizona Supreme Court.[22] After Governor Doug Ducey replaced several members of the state judicial nominating commission,[23][24] Montgomery's name was sent to the governor, who selected him for the supreme court seat on September 4, 2019.[25] Montgomery was sworn into office in a private ceremony on September 6, 2019.[26]

References
  1. Castle, Lauren; Boehm, Jessica (September 4, 2019). "Who will replace Bill Montgomery as Maricopa County attorney?". The Arizona Republic.
  2. Polletta, Maria (September 4, 2019). "Gov. Doug Ducey appoints Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery to Arizona Supreme Court". The Arizona Republic.
  3. "County Attorney's Office earns recognition for two programs". Scottsdale Independent. May 3, 2017.
  4. Wagner, Dennis (November 25, 2018). "Bill Montgomery: The son of a smuggler becomes Maricopa County's controversial prosecutor". The Arizona Republic.
  5. Montgomery, Bill (September 6, 2017). "The Time to Prepare for a Police Shooting Is Before It Happens". Route Fifty.
  6. "Bill Montgomery Named Co-Chair of Metropolitan Prosecutors Committee for National District Attorneys" (Press release). Phoenix: Maricopa County Attorney's Office. November 18, 2016.
  7. Blasius, Melissa (September 3, 2019). "Ethics complaint filed against Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery". KNXV.
  8. Fischer, Howard (July 26, 2019). "Push is on to nominate Maricopa's top prosecutor for Arizona's Supreme Court". Arizona Daily Star.
  9. Pishko, Jessica (November 7, 2016). "This Arizona Prosecutor Is Waging a Strange War on Weed—and That's Just the Beginning". The Nation. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  10. Stern, Ray (December 22, 2016). "County Attorney Bill Montgomery Continues His Failing Crusade Against Arizona's Medical Marijuana Law". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  11. Cassidy, Megan (May 8, 2019). "Arizona has a huge prison population. Lawmakers take no action to change that. Why?". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  12. Fischer, Howard (April 4, 2017). "County prosecutors leaning hard on governor to veto civil forfeiture bill". Arizona Capitol Times. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  13. Kiefer, Michael (July 23, 2010). "County attorney candidate Bill Montgomery differentiates self from ex-bosses". The Arizona Republic.
  14. "Montgomery, Arpaio beat Romley". Phoenix Business Journal. August 25, 2010.
  15. "Romley named interim Maricopa county attorney". East Valley Tribune. April 15, 2010.
  16. "November 2, 2010 – Final Official Results" (PDF). maricopa.gov.
  17. "November 6, 2012 – Final Official Results" (PDF). maricopa.gov.
  18. "November 8, 2016 – Final Official Results" (PDF). maricopa.gov.
  19. Boehm, Jessica; Sanchez, Yvonne Wingett (January 25, 2019). "Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery seeks appointment to Arizona Supreme Court". The Arizona Republic.
  20. O'Connor, Meg (June 25, 209). "Despite Growing Controversy, Bill Montgomery's Supreme Court Bid Moves Ahead". Phoenix New Times.
  21. Polletta, Maria (March 1, 2019). "Five finalists named for open Arizona Supreme Court spot; Bill Montgomery not on the list". The Arizona Republic.
  22. Fischer, Howard (July 24, 2019). "Montgomery supporters line up in bid for Supreme Court". Arizona Capitol Times.
  23. Duda, Jeremy (May 31, 2019). "Montgomery opponents cleared from judicial nominating commission". Arizona Mirror.
  24. Montini, EJ (September 4, 2019). "Gov. Doug Ducey's rigged system gets Bill Montgomery on the Arizona Supreme Court". The Arizona Republic.
  25. Cooper, Jonathan J. (September 5, 2019). "Ducey appoints Montgomery to Arizona Supreme Court". Arizona Public Media. Associated Press.
  26. MacDonald-Evoy, Jerod (September 6, 2019). "Bill Montgomery sworn in during private ceremony". Arizona Mirror.
Legal offices
Preceded by
Scott Bales		 Associate Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
2019–present		 Incumbent
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