This week, Governor Doug Ducey announced the appointments of Jillian Francis, Charlene Jackson, James Knapp and Sunita Krishna to the Maricopa County Superior Court. These appointments are to fill vacancies created by the resignation of Judge James Smith and the retirement of Judges Margaret Mahoney, David Cunanan, and Sally Duncan.
Francis is an Assistant Attorney General with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, where she has served in a variety of roles since 2014. She currently works in the Solicitor General’s Office on election matters and other high-profile litigation. She has represented the State of Arizona in special action proceedings in the Arizona Court of Appeals and drafted Attorney General Opinions. She has authored amicus briefs on behalf of the Arizona Attorney General on issues of statewide importance such as constitutional law, victims’ rights, and interpretation of Arizona’s drug laws.
Jackson is a solo practitioner through her firm, the Jackson Law Firm, where her practice focuses on working with tribes and tribal organizations. She has represented tribes and tribal organizations in a multitude of issues including gaming, human resources and employment law, contract review, policy development, and business reorganization. Charlene has been admitted to practice the law in Arizona, the federal District Court of Arizona, the Ak-Chin Indian Community, and the Tohono O’odham Nation.
Knapp is currently an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, where he has worked since 2006. Jim was the section chief of Financial Crimes from August 2019 until February 2022, where he supervised a team of 10 tasked with overseeing federal criminal investigations and prosecuting fraud, money laundering, tax offenses and cybercrimes. Prior to that, he was chief of the General Crimes Section for more than four years, supervising assistant U.S. attorneys and support staff, prosecuting firearms, drug trafficking, and immigration offenses. He was also deputy chief of Border Crimes from August 2014 to January 2015.
Krishna is currently an Assistant Attorney General with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office. Her cases involve healthcare professionals who have been implicated in a wide range of misconduct including sexual assault, theft, diversion of narcotics from healthcare facilities, and practicing below the standard of care. She has also handled special actions filed in superior court, as well as appeals before the Arizona Court of Appeals.