Andrew D. Hurwitz
Andrew David Hurwitz (born October 1, 1947) 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.
Andrew D. Hurwitz
Education and clerkships[edit]
Hurwitz graduated cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Princeton University in 1968 with an Artium Baccalaureus degree in Public and International Affairs.[1]
He earned his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1972, where he served as a member of the Board of Editors[2] and the Note and Comment Editor[3] of the Yale Law Journal.[1]
After law school, he clerked for Judge Jon O. Newman of the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut.[4] and for Judge J. Joseph Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[1] From 1973 to 1974, he clerked for Justice Potter Stewart of the United States Supreme Court.[5]
Legal and political career[edit]
Hurwitz practiced law in Phoenix for nearly 30 years before becoming a judge. He was a partner at Osborn Maledon from 1995 to 2003, and an associate and partner at the predecessor firm Meyer Hendricks Victor Osborn & Maledon from 1974 to 1980 and from 1983 to 1995.[1] His practice included commercial litigation, administrative law, and government affairs, but he was best known as one of the most skilled appellate specialists in Arizona.
His most notable case as an appellate attorney came in 2002, when he successfully argued Ring v. Arizona before the United States Supreme Court.[6] Representing Timothy Ring and several other death row inmates, he argued that in murder cases the Sixth Amendment requires juries, rather than judges, to make factual determinations that aggravating circumstances exist that qualify defendants for the death penalty. The Supreme Court agreed in a 7–2 decision that dramatically altered capital sentencing in Arizona and a number of other states.
From 1980 to 1983, Hurwitz took a break from the practice of law to serve as chief of staff to Governor Bruce Babbitt.[1] Among the projects he oversaw for Governor Babbitt was the creation of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), an innovative program to control Medicaid costs.[7] His experience in the governor's office led then-Secretary of State Rose Mofford to tap him to lead her transition team during the 1988 impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham.[8] When Mofford became governor after Mecham's removal from office, Hurwitz became her chief of staff.[9] He later served as co-chair of the transition team for Governor Janet Napolitano.[1]
In addition to his work for three Arizona governors, Hurwitz has held a variety of other public service positions. He served as a member of the Arizona Board of Regents overseeing the state's public university system from 1988 to 1996, including a term as president of the Board of Regents from 1992 to 1993.[1][10] He chaired two City of Phoenix committees focused on neighborhood improvement and street environment from 1986 to 1990.[1] He also served on the boards of directors of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest (1986–1988) and the Children's Action Alliance (1999–2003). In addition, he has been an adjunct and visiting professor at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University since 1977, teaching Ethics, Supreme Court Litigation, Legislative Process, Civil Procedure, and Federal Courts, among other classes.[1]