Gov. Doug Ducey is elevating a Democratic Maricopa County judge to the Arizona Court of Appeals.
Ducey announced the appointment of David Gass on Friday.
Gass was an attorney at the Phoenix firm Lewis & Roca, an assistant attorney general and a lawyer for the state House Democrats. He was appointed a decade ago to the Maricopa County Superior Court by then-Democratic Gov. Janet Napolitano.
Gass replaces James Beene, whom Ducey appointed to the Supreme Court earlier this year.
Ducey's appointment of a Democratic appellate judge comes as the Republican governor faces criticism for his picks for the Arizona Supreme Court, who have all been conservative men.
