'It is an honor': Arizona Supreme Court Justice Maria Elena Cruz makes history
PHOENIX - The Arizona Supreme Court now has seven justices after Maria Elena Cruz was sworn in on Feb. 3.
She's a historical appointee, and we're learning more about her in a one-on-one interview.
The Justice's Backstory:
History was made at the Arizona Supreme Court as the first Latina and Black state supreme court justice, Maria Elena Cruz, was sworn in.
"It is an honor to be able to do this work," Cruz said during an interview on Feb. 4.
The 52-year-old earned her Juris Doctorate from U of A, and began her legal career in Yuma, where she's lived for 30 years and will continue to, with her husband and two children.
It was in rural Arizona where the child of working-class parents climbed the ladder from the Yuma County Superior Court to the Cocopah Indian Tribal Court, to now, the Arizona Supreme Court.
"Yuma made me and I want to continue to be a fair representation of that life," Cruz said. "I will do the work of applying the law fairly."
Dig deeper:
Leaders on both sides of the aisle like her work.
Cruz was appointed to the Arizona's Court of Appeals by Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, and now was appointed to the highest court by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.
She has presided over big cases that impacted the average Arizonan.
When lobbyists tried to pass SB 1377 to prevent people from suing doctors and hospitals over COVID-related injuries, she ruled against it.
When creditors tried to stop Prop 209, which aimed to protect debtors, she ruled against it.
When the majority of the appeals court ruled to allow a woman to use her and her ex-husband’s frozen embyros against his will, she was in the dissent.
"We’re not here to push forward our own personal agenda, our own personal preferences. We are here to uphold the law," Cruz said.
The supreme court has discretionary review of cases currently in the courts and the seven justices decide which appeals cases they’re going to hear.
What's next:
FOX 10 asked which ones were coming up, but she couldn’t legally say.
"I will hear cases that are the most consequential, typically that have statewide importance, and so they will be the most challenging," Cruz said.
Cruz's first case in the Arizona Supreme Court will be a property dispute, Dominguez v. Dominguez on Feb. 27.