During Montgomery's tenure, the county attorney's office gained national recognition for its Restitution Specialist and Sex Assault Backlog programs.[5]
While serving as the County Attorney, Montgomery called for formal written protocols to address use of force incidents[6] and served as the Arizona State Director for the National District Attorneys Association.[7]
In August 2019, attorneys for Jodi Arias filed an ethics complaint against Montgomery, claiming he covered up misconduct and harassment by the lead prosecutor on the case.[8] The complaint was later dismissed following a nearly 14-month screening process by the State Bar that found no evidence of any misconduct by Montgomery.[9]
In the 2010 special election to replace Andrew Thomas, who resigned to run for Arizona Attorney General, Montgomery defeated interim county attorney Rick Romley in the Republican Primary.[11] Montgomery went on to defeat Libertarian Michael Kielsky in the general election.[12][13]
Montgomery won election to a full term in 2012 in a rematch against Kielsky.[14] He won re-election again in 2016 against Democrat Diego Rodriguez[15]
Arizona Supreme Court appointment
In January 2019, Montgomery applied for an appointment to a vacancy in the Arizona Supreme Court.[16] The commission did not pass Montgomery's name to the governor, which is required for a judicial apportionment, citing "concerns over the pattern of misconduct at the Maricopa County Attorney's Office and a lack of relevant professional experience."[17]
In June 2019, Montgomery applied for a second vacancy on the Arizona Supreme Court.[18] This time, after Governor Doug Ducey replaced several members of the state judicial nominating commission,[19] Montgomery's name was sent to the governor, who selected him for the supreme court seat on September 4, 2019.[20] Montgomery was sworn into office on September 6, 2019.[21][22]
