Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs has appointed Maria Elena Cruz to the Arizona Supreme Court. The state appellate judge from rural Yuma County will become the first Latina and the first Black person chosen for the state’s high court.

Maria Elena Cruz, a state appeals court judge, is the first Latina and first Black Arizonan to serve on the state’s most influential bench.

Newly appointed Supreme Court Justice Maria Elena Cruz has played a key role in some major decisions while she was a judge on the Court of Appeals. In May, she wrote for a

Gov. Katie Hobbs announced her first Arizona Supreme Court selection on Wednesday, appointing Judge Maria Elena Cruz to the bench.

Gov. Katie Hobbs on Monday placed the first Latina and the first Black ever on the Arizona Supreme Court. While in private practice, Cruz also served as a judge for the Cocopah Indian Tribe before being elected to Yuma County Superior Court in 2008.