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Maria Elena Cruz, now a judge on the , was picked by Hobbs from among the five candidates submitted to her by the Commission on Appellate Court Appointments. Arizona law required Hobbs to choose from the list.

Cruz was considered the odds-on favorite. She not only was the only nominee who got unanimous approval from the commission, but her appointment also enabled the governor to announce what her office called a “historic’’ moment for Arizona.

Hobbs, however, bristled when asked about how important it was to her to choose a Black Latina for the post.

“Do not insult with this question,’’ she responded. “She is eminently qualified.’’

But Cruz said there is a good reason for having someone with her background and who looks like her on the court.

“My question would be the opposite: Why should the courts not reflect the population? she said. “Why should a state that is so diverse have a Supreme Court that looks like one racial aspect of our state.’’

Cruz said that is obvious in looking at the history of the state.

“The fact that we’ve had 49 justices and only had five women does not engender trust from citizens in the court,’’ she said. There is one Hispanic: John Lopez, who joined the high court in 2017 after being tapped by then-Gov. Doug Ducey.

“The courts are an expression of people’s self governance, right?’’ Cruz said. “And if we are self-governing, then the court should be the ‘self.’ ‘’

Cruz pointed out the Arizona Constitution requires both the commission that screens applicants and the governor herself to “consider the diversity of the state’s population.’’

Cruz, from Yuma, replaces Robert Brutinel who retired at the end of last year.

Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer pointed out that Brutinel was the only one of the seven justices who came from outside of Maricopa County. And she said there is no geographic diversity requirement for the Supreme Court — nor, she said, a “rural perspective on what the law is.’’

“However, there is a tremendous need for a rural perspective on the regulatory aspects of the court,’’ Timmer said. She said that is important when the court is considering new rules and regulations, including those that determine the ease of access to the courts, to determine how — and whether — they would work in rural areas.

“So having someone from Yuma, and a former Superior Court judge to boot, is a tremendous boon to our court,’’ the chief justice said.

Timmer, who has known Cruz for years — she tapped her to be presiding judge in Yuma County — also credited her with having “a strong voice.’’ She said that is important if Cruz is to “hold her own in the room’’ with the other six justices “and to contribute to ensuring the correct decisions are made at our court.’’

Cruz becomes the only Democrat on the court, which consists of four Republicans and a political independent named by Ducey and Timmer, also a Republican, who was tapped for the court by Ducey predecessor Jan Brewer.

At a news conference Wednesday, Cruz said it was never her goal to be appointed to the Supreme Court.

“My goal was to serve my community, an area that is known as a legal desert where it’s very difficult to get an attorney,’’ she said. That was brought home, Cruz said, when she had a car accident and needed an attorney.

“In order for an attorney to even give me a consult — I know this is strange to people in Maricopa County where you can’t take two steps without running into a personal injury lawyer — but my father knew someone who knew someone who was able to get me an appointment,’’ Cruz said.

“And I saw in that person someone who could champion my cause,’’ she continued. “And I thought, ‘This is something I can do to help vindicate people’s rights.’ ‘’

Cruz sidestepped a question on her views on immigration issues.

“We do recognize that there are federal issues that are at play now,’’ she said. But Cruz said that judges are not supposed to give answers to legal questions that are not formally before the court.

“What I will say is when the people in our state, whether they are directly impacted by these policies and rules, when they look at our court, now all the way up to the Supreme Court of our state, they’ll be able to see themselves reflected, and they’ll have a little bit more confidence in the fact that decisions that are going to be made are not going to be made from a perspective that doesn’t take into account their diversity.’’

Cruz will be sworn in Monday.

A native of Puerto Rico, Cruz said she moved to Arizona at age 14 and has been in Yuma for 32 years. A graduate of the , she worked for the Pima and later the Yuma County attorneys offices before becoming a public defender there.

While in private practice, she also served as a judge for the Cocopah Indian Tribe before being elected to Yuma County Superior Court in 2008, where she served until Ducey named her to the Court of Appeals in 2017.

Hobbs also mentioned that Cruz, while a judge, was tapped to manage the Swift Accountable Fair Enforcement court program, which aims to reduce recidivism. And Cruz also started Yuma County’s first-ever “restitution court’’ which worked to ensure that those convicted of crimes compensated their victims.