Why the Keep Courts Accountable PAC

In 1974, under the leadership of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Arizona adopted a balanced judicial selection process that combines merit-based appointments with voter retention elections. This system has been lauded as a national model for ensuring judicial independence while preserving accountability to the people. Today, this legacy is under threat by Proposition 137, which seeks to replace this proven system with legislative control. KCA PAC was formed to defend the independence and accountability of Arizona’s courts and to protect the integrity of our judicial system from this harmful proposition.

Our Mission

The Keep Courts Accountable PAC (KCA PAC) is dedicated to protecting the integrity and accountability of Arizona’s judiciary by opposing Proposition 137. This dangerous ballot measure threatens to undermine the state’s merit-based selection process with voter retention, which has ensured fairness and independence in our courts. Our mission is to educate the public on the risks posed by Proposition 137 and to mobilize efforts to defeat it, preserving a system that allows judges to remain independent and accountable to Arizona’s citizens.

The History of Arizona’s Judicial Merit-Based System with Voter Retention

It all started when…

When Arizona revolutionized its judicial system, in 1974, by shifting from the election of judges to a merit-based selection process combined with voter retention elections. This change was driven by concerns that the previous partisan election process compromised judicial impartiality, as judges were often influenced by political affiliations and campaign funding.

Led by then-legislator Sandra Day O’Connor, Arizona adopted a new system where judges are appointed based on qualifications, not politics. This system ensures that while judges remain independent from political pressures, they are still accountable to the public through retention elections, where voters decide if they should continue serving.

Justice O’Connor’s leadership was pivotal in this reform, creating a judiciary that is both independent and accountable—a model now admired nationwide.

A CALL TO ACTION

Safeguarding Justice, Protecting Independence

Arizona’s judiciary stands as a model of fairness and impartiality, safeguarded by a merit-based selection process with voter retention that has served the state for nearly five decades. Proposition 137 threatens to dismantle this system by eliminating term limits with voter retention and introducing legislative oversight. The Keep Courts Accountable PAC (KCA PAC) is committed to protecting the integrity and accountability of our courts. Join us in the effort to preserve a judicial system that remains independent and accountable to the people.

What is Prop 137?

Arizona courts must be accountable to those they serve.  The cornerstone to an independent justice system is the ability of judges to set aside all ideological preferences and political pressures, while maintaining accountability to the public. This is what makes Arizona’s merit-based system with judicial retention elections work so well, and this is what we stand to lose with Prop 137.

In 1974, thanks to the foresight of state leaders and legislators including Sandra Day O'Connor, the question of how judges remain accountable and independent was answered when voters amended the Arizona constitution to adopt a merit-based appointment process coupled with a retention election at the end of the justices’ and certain judges’ four- or six-year terms.

From statehood to 1974, all judges and justices in Arizona were elected. Since then, this process has produced an accountable judiciary with only six judges failing to earn retention. It balances the need for merit-based selection with voter retention that ensures accountability to the people.

As Justice O'Connor said in a 2008 Arizona Law Review article, “We further conclude that judges are best able to perform their constitutionally prescribed role in a hybrid merit-based system like Arizona now has, featuring both appointment and retention election.”