january 13, 2016

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey appoints Goldwater Institute’s Clint Bolick to serve as Arizona Supreme Court Justice

PHOENIX - Governor Doug Ducey put his stamp on the on state’s highest court with his appointment of Goldwater Institute’s Clint Bolick to the Arizona Supreme Court. Bolick will replace retiring Justice Rebecca Berch. He was among seven candidates recommended to the Governor by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments.

“I’m proud of the many victories for freedom we have achieved at the Goldwater Institute over the past eight years,” said Bolick.  “I am deeply honored by Gov. Ducey’s appointment from a highly distinguished group of nominees, and am excited to bring my experience in constitutional law to the Arizona Supreme Court.”

Bolick has served as vice president for litigation at the Goldwater Institute’s Scharf-Norton Center for Constitutional Litigation since 2007. The Goldwater Institute is widely recognized for championing liberty and constitutional rights in courts, legislatures, and communities nationwide.

According to a recent New York Times profile, Bolick is “known for his aggressive litigation in defense of individual liberties.” He has argued and won cases in the United States Supreme Court, the Arizona Supreme Court, and state and federal courts from coast to coast. Under his leadership Goldwater Institute attorneys set landmark precedents defending school choice, freedom of enterprise, and private property rights and won three of every four lawsuits that reached a final decision.

Bolick helped author the Health Care Freedom Act and the Save Our Secret Ballot amendments, which were added to the Arizona Constitution in 2010 and adopted in several additional states. Bolick has also assisted attorneys in numerous states to establish litigation centers based on the Goldwater Institute model.

Before joining the Goldwater Institute, Bolick was co-founder of the Institute for Justice and later served as president of the Alliance for School Choice.

In 2003, American Lawyer recognized Bolick as one of three lawyers of the year for his successful defense of school choice programs, culminating in Zelman v. Simmons-Harris in the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2009, Legal Times named Bolick one of the “90 Greatest D.C. Lawyers in the Past 30 Years.” Bolick received one of the freedom movement’s most prestigious awards, the Bradley Prize, in 2006 for advancing the values of democracy and free enterprise.

Bolick has authored several books, most recently with Governor Jeb Bush, Immigration Wars: Forging an American Solution. Other titles include Death Grip: Loosening the Law’s Stranglehold Over Economic Liberty (2011) and David’s Hammer: The Case for an Activist Judiciary (2007).)  In addition to his work at the Goldwater Institute, Bolick serves as a research fellow with the Hoover Institute, a Stanford University based public policy think tank promoting the principles of individual, economic, and political freedom.

“As a litigator, Clint Bolick has vindicated the fundamental constitutional rights of all Americans, including winning landmark cases that protected the right to earn an honest living and expanded educational options for children nationwide,” said Darcy Olsen, President of the Goldwater Institute. “Americans can count on Clint to be on the side of all Americans in defending our constitutional freedoms.”

Five justices serve on the Arizona Supreme Court for a term of six years. The Supreme Court’s primary judicial duties under Article VI, §5 of the Arizona Constitution are to review appeals and to provide rules of procedure for all the courts in Arizona. It is the highest court, and is often called the court of last resort in the state of Arizona.