With just days left in his final term in office, Governor Doug Ducey filled vacancies on the Arizona Court of Appeals. The vacancies were created by his addition of three at-large appellate seats on each division of the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Ducey appointed Michael Catlett and Daniel Kiley to Division I as well as his long-time legal counsel and failed candidate for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Anni Hill Foster.
Ducey appointed Lacey Stover Gard, Michael Kelly, and Christopher O’Neil to Division II.
Catlett currently serves as a Deputy Solicitor General with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office where he represents the State of Arizona in appellate proceedings involving a wide variety of issues, including the Second Amendment, victim’s rights, energy regulation, antitrust regulation, criminal law, and election law.
Kiley has served as a Superior Court Judge in Maricopa County since 2010. During his years on the Superior Court, Dan has served on the civil, criminal, and family court benches. He currently serves as Presiding Judge of the Lower Court and Administrative Appeals Department, where he handles appeals from 23 municipal courts, 26 justice courts, and over two dozen administrative boards and agencies.
Foster has served as the General Counsel to the Arizona Governor’s Office since 2018 and as the Deputy General Counsel from 2017 to 2018. Foster dropped out of the race for Maricopa County Attorney when it became clear she had little to no support in her bid to challenge appointee Rachel Mitchell in a special election to replace the late County Attorney Allister Adel.
Stover Gard has served as a Superior Court Judge in Pinal County since 2021 where she has been assigned to the civil law bench.
Kelly has worked as a partner at the Hollingsworth Kelly law firm since 2009 where his practice has focused on civil litigation and trial work involving negligence claims, wrongful death, product liability, and contract disputes. Prior to transitioning to private practice, Michael served as a prosecuting attorney with the Pima County Attorney’s Office.
O’Neil currently serves as the Presiding Judge over the civil bench for the Pinal County Superior Court. Prior to his appointment to the Superior Court, Christopher served as the Presiding Judge of Casa Grande Municipal Court.