PHOENIX — Arizona women have had a pattern of making "herstory" and shattering glass ceilings in the judicial world.
Most notable is former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first female judge to serve on our nation's High Court. Before that, Justice O'Connor served as a judge in the Arizona Court of Appeals.
In 1965, Arizona Supreme Court Justice Lorna Lockwood became not only the first woman to be Chief Justice in State 48, but it was the first time any state in America had a woman in that role.
I recently sat down with Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Timmer to discuss the impact and influence women have had in Arizona and beyond - and what obstacles still stand in the way.
It's a career milestone Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Timmer never imagined for herself.
"Oh no! Are you kidding? No, I never envisioned that," Chief Justice Timmer explains.
And that could be because it's still a rare position for women in our state; Since the court was founded in 1912, only five justices have been women. But although their numbers have been small, their impact has been huge.
"I'm honored to hold the position. And I'm really happy we have more than one woman...For six years or so, it was just me and the guys, and while they treated me with great respect - I was cognizant, particularly when we go to schools...and I never wanted a little girl to think that this isn't a place for women, that there are not places for women in the judiciary or in the law, and by only having one, it kind of communicated that a little."
Chief Justice Timmer says she'd like to see even more women serve on Arizona's High Court, but also says merit has to be the number one overall qualification.
"You never want to put someone on the court to fill a particular niche...You have to have the merit first and foremost, but beyond that, yes, absolutely. You want as diverse a bench as possible. And that includes having women. Why diverse? People are looking at the decision, they feel more confident if you see the bench more reflective of the community."
Chief Justice Timmer says finding ways to include more female justices ultimately starts with women feeling empowered to fill these coveted positions.
"I think sometimes, women have this feeling of, 'Oh, I'm not prepared yet' or 'I have to get all my ducks in row,' and they just need encouragement. I know I did."
Arizona governors appoint justices to the Supreme Court but are required to pick from a pre-determined list of applicants, put together by a bipartisan commission.
"They can only appoint who is actually sent to them. And for many years, no women applied or you'd have one woman apply and so I have gone to women groups and said, 'you need to get out there and apply.'"
Part of that motivation to encourage other women comes from some wise words passed on by another trailblazing judge, Justice O'Connor.
"She was quite the force of nature, obviously...She was very 'take the reigns,' so if you see a problem, you do something about it."
Chief Justice Timmer remembers one scenario in particular where Justice O'Connor encouraged her to motivate other women to throw their names into the hat to be part of the Arizona Supreme Court.
"She leaned down and said, 'There's only one woman on the Supreme Court? Well, what are you doing to do about it?' And I thought about it and I thought, 'What can I do? I can't appoint. But what I can do is encourage.'"
Lockwood was Arizona's first female Supreme Court Justice and was appointed in 1961. She'd go on to make history again in 1965 after being selected to be the Chief Justice - the first time that had ever happened in any state in the U.S.
Ruth McGregor would be the next female justice in 1998, followed by Rebecca White Berch in 2002, Chief Justice Timmer in 2012, and Kathryn King in 2021.
Of the five female justices, all but one have served as Chief Justice on the Arizona Supreme Court.
