Randall M. Howe
AZ · Chief Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One
Randall M. Howe is chief judge of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, where he has served since 2012. He was a federal prosecutor and led the criminal appeals section of the Arizona Attorney General's Office.
Track record
Track record — General
General · 11 records
Wrote an opinion affirming a weapons conviction and holding that requesting one justification instruction did not preserve a different defense for appeal.
May 13, 2025
Source: azcourts.gov
Wrote an opinion finding that Arizona cannot automatically remove a person's voting rights upon general guardianship without assessing voting capacity.
May 30, 2024
Source: azcourts.gov
Wrote an opinion reversing a mother's placement on Arizona's child-abuse registry for physician-guided medical marijuana use during pregnancy.
March 31, 2022
Source: azcourts.gov
Wrote an opinion restoring the jury's original punitive-damages award in a case over mishandled donated bodies because the challenge to that award came too late.
February 15, 2022
Source: azcourts.gov
Wrote a divided criminal ruling that upheld convictions but ordered consecutive sentences for two child-molestation counts involving one victim.
March 12, 2020
Source: azcourts.gov
Wrote an Arizona Supreme Court panel opinion striking changes to employed officials' pension increases and contribution rates as unconstitutional.
November 10, 2016
Source: azcourts.gov
Wrote an opinion requiring disclosure of a nursing home's emails and consultant report while protecting its quality-assurance incident logs.
December 18, 2014
Source: azcourts.gov
Was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals by Governor Jan Brewer after serving as a state and federal appellate lawyer.
April 11, 2012
Source: azcourts.gov
Argued for Arizona before the U.S. Supreme Court in Clark v. Arizona, defending the state's approach to an insanity defense.
April 19, 2006
Source: supremecourt.gov
Served among Arizona's counsel in State v. Pitre; the appeals court upheld the convictions but ordered resentencing under the U.S. Supreme Court's Blakely ruling.
March 8, 2005
Source: coa1.azcourts.gov
Served as counsel for Arizona when an appeals court upheld the state's ban on leghold traps on public land against constitutional challenges.
November 23, 1999
Source: caselaw.findlaw.com
Track record — Impartiality
Impartiality · 1 favorable
Arizona's judicial review commission found that Howe met its performance standards for the 2026 retention vote.
April 24, 2026Favorable on Impartiality
Source: jpr.azcourts.gov
Track record — Legal Competence
Legal Competence · 1 favorable
Arizona's judicial review commission found that Howe met its performance standards for the 2026 retention vote.
April 24, 2026Favorable on Legal Competence
Source: jpr.azcourts.gov
Past race Randall M. Howe ran in:
- Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One Judge — Hon. Randall M. Howe retention · November 3, 2026 · Maricopa County, Arizona · incumbent