Rebecca White Berch

Last updated
Michael Allen Berch
(m. 1981)
Rebecca White Berch
Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
In office
July 1, 2009 June 27, 2014
Parents
  • Robert Eugene White (father)
  • Janey Key Zimmerman (mother)
Alma mater Arizona State University (JD)

Rebecca White Berch (born June 29, 1955) [2] is a former justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. On July 1, 2009, she began a five-year term as chief justice, a position to which she was elected by her peers on the court. As chief justice, she succeeded Ruth McGregor. She concluded her service as Arizona's chief justice in July 2014 when she passed the gavel to new Chief Justice Scott Bales. Berch had been a justice of the state's highest court since March 2002, when she was appointed to the court by Republican governor Jane Dee Hull. She retired in September 2015.

Contents

Early life

Berch was born in Phoenix, Arizona, the daughter of Robert Eugene and Janet Kay (née Zimmerman) White. She married Michael Allen Berch on March 9, 1981. [3] She earned a Bachelor of Science in 1976, a Juris Doctor in 1979 and a Master of Arts in 1990 all from Arizona State University. [4]

Professional career

Berch began her career as an associate and partner with the firm McGroder, Tryon, Heller, Rayes & Berch from 1979 to 1985 before serving as director of the legal writing program at the Arizona State University College of Law from 1986 to 1991 and 1994 to 1995. She served as solicitor general for the State of Arizona, from 1991 to 1994, as special counsel to the Arizona attorney general from 1995 to 1996 and as first assistant Arizona attorney general from 1996 to 1998.

Berch joined the bench as a judge on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division I, from April 1998 to March 2002. She served as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from April 2002 to June 2005 before becoming vice chief justice in June 2005. [5] Berch retired from the Supreme Court in September 2015.

Awards and associations

Awards

Associations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David B. Sentelle</span> American judge

David Bryan Sentelle is a Senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Willis Whichard</span> American judge

Willis P. Whichard is an American lawyer and a prominent figure in North Carolina politics and education. Whichard is the only person in the history of North Carolina who has served in both houses of the state legislature and on both of the state's appellate courts.

Marilyn Louise Warren is a former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria and lieutenant-governor of Victoria, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arizona Supreme Court</span> Highest court in the U.S. state of Arizona

The Arizona Supreme Court is the state supreme court of the U.S. state of Arizona. Sitting in the Supreme Court building in downtown Phoenix, the court consists of a chief justice, a vice chief justice, and five associate justices. Each justice is appointed by the governor of Arizona from a list recommended by a bipartisan commission. Justices stand for retention in an election two years after their appointment and then every six years. They must retire at age 70.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Willett</span> American judge (born 1966)

Donny Ray Willett is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was previously appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to serve as a justice of the Supreme Court of Texas on August 24, 2005, when former Justice Priscilla Owen created a vacancy on that court by joining the Fifth Circuit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ming Chin</span> American judge

Ming William Chin is an American attorney and former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of California, serving from March 1, 1996 to August 31, 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lorna E. Lockwood</span> American judge (1903–1977)

Lorna Elizabeth Lockwood was an American lawyer and judge who served as justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law</span> Graduate school at Arizona State University

The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law is the law school at Arizona State University in Phoenix, Arizona. The school is located in the Beus Center for Law and Society on ASU's downtown Phoenix campus. Created in 1965 as the Arizona State University College of Law upon recommendation of the Arizona Board of Regents, with the first classes held in the fall of 1967. The school has held American Bar Association accreditation since 1969 and is a member of the Order of the Coif. The school is also a member of the Association of American Law Schools. In 2006, the law school was renamed in honor of retired United States Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

The Arizona Court of Appeals is the intermediate appellate court for the state of Arizona. It is divided into two divisions, with a total of twenty-eight judges on the court: nineteen in Division 1, based in Phoenix, and nine in Division 2, based in Tucson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roslyn O. Silver</span> American judge

Roslyn O. Silver is a senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. She served as Chief Judge for the district from 2011 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry J. Abraham</span> American political scientist

Henry Julian Abraham was a German-born American scholar on the judiciary and constitutional law. He was James Hart Professor of Government Emeritus at the University of Virginia. He was the author of 13 books, most in multiple editions, and more than 100 articles on the U.S. Supreme Court, judicial appointments, judicial process, and civil rights and liberties.

Michael D. Ryan was a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, a position he had held 2002–2010. He was also a veteran of the Vietnam War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew D. Hurwitz</span> American judge (born 1947)

Andrew David Hurwitz is a senior United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He served as a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court from 2003 to 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noma Gurich</span> American judge

Noma D. Gurich is an American attorney and jurist who is serving as an associate justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court. Gurich was appointed the State's highest court by Governor Brad Henry in 2010 and assumed office on February 15, 2011. Gurich was appointed to the Court following the death of long-time Justice Marian P. Opala. Gurich is the third woman in state history after Alma Wilson and Yvonne Kauger to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Bales</span> American judge

William Scott Bales is the former Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He was appointed to the court in 2005 by Governor Janet Napolitano through Arizona's merit selection system. He was elected by his fellow justices as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, to replace Rebecca White Berch, effective June 27, 2014. Bales served as Arizona's chief justice until July 31, 2019.

Gary R. Wade is a former Chief Justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Following retirement he was named vice president and Dean of Lincoln Memorial University's Duncan School of Law on July 28, 2015, taking the position on September 9, 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald L. Cunningham</span> American judge (1866–1947)

Donald LaFayette Cunningham was one of the original Justices of the Supreme Court of Arizona, serving from February 14, 1912, to January 4, 1921. He served as chief justice from January 1918 to December 1929 and served as a member of Arizona's 1910 constitutional convention.

Frank X. Gordon Jr. was a justice of the Supreme Court of Arizona from September 16, 1975, to February 3, 1992. He served as chief justice from January 1987 to December 1992. Gordon was the first Supreme Court appointment under the new merit selection system, he was appointed by Governor Raul Castro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Lopez IV</span> American judge

John R. Lopez IV is a justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

References

  1. http://archive.azcentral.com/ic/pdf/brewer-judge-appointments.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  2. Who's who in the West , Volume 31. 2004. ISBN   9780837909356
  3. Who's Who in America. Marquis's Who's Who. 2006. p. 342.
  4. AZ Judges' bio
  5. Justice Berch bio from the Arizona Supreme Court
  6. Arizona Supreme Court, Rebecca White Berch