Judge Currently Seated

D. Andrew Gaona

Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One · Seated March 2026

Portrait of D. Andrew Gaona

Photograph courtesy of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One.

Education and employment

Judge D. Andrew (“Andy”) Gaona joined the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, in March 2026 after his appointment by Governor Katie Hobbs.

Judge Gaona graduated from the University of Arizona in 2006 and from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University, summa cum laude and with the highest pro bono distinction, in 2010. While in law school, Judge Gaona was a legal writing teaching assistant, a student attorney in the Civil Justice Clinic, the Executive Managing Editor of the Arizona State Law Journal, and received the John S. Armstrong Award as his class’s most outstanding graduate.

Judge Gaona began his legal career as a law clerk in the chambers of Justice Andrew D. Hurwitz of the Arizona Supreme Court. He then spent 3.5 years in the Phoenix office of Perkins Coie LLP working in the areas of business litigation, constitutional litigation, and white-collar criminal defense. He joined Coppersmith Brockelman PLC in 2015, where he became a partner and focused on commercial litigation, public law, election law, and appeals.

Judge Gaona served on the Arizona Supreme Court’s Judicial Performance Review Task Force, and often presented on subjects involving Arizona election law and practice in Arizona’s appellate courts. He also cares deeply about his home state and handled many important pro bono cases over his career, and served on the board of directors of the Arizona Center for Law in the Public Interest from 2014 to 2026.

Judicial record

42 opinions where D. Andrew Gaona sat on the panel, spanning 2026–2026.

17 Majority authored
25 Joined majority

By court

  • Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 42

By disposition

  • Affirmed 29
  • Mixed 5
  • Denied 4
  • Vacated 2
  • Dismissed 1
  • Reversed 1

Panel votes per year

How D. Andrew Gaona's panel-seat count has shifted year by year. Overlaid with Jennifer M. Perkins for comparison (drop the overlay).

0 35 70 105 140 175 2017 2019 2021 2023 2025 2026 2026: 42 votes — D. Andrew Gaona 2017: 3 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2018: 152 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2019: 174 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2020: 149 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2021: 152 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2022: 111 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2023: 84 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2024: 88 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2025: 99 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins 2026: 86 votes — Jennifer M. Perkins
  • D. Andrew Gaona
  • Jennifer M. Perkins

Most-frequent co-panelists

Judges who appeared on the same opinions. aligned = same bucket (both majority, both dissent); partial = concurred in result but wrote separately; split = the meaningful disagreement (majority vs dissent).

Recent opinions

15 most recent opinions where D. Andrew Gaona sat on the panel.

Docket Court Filed Disposition Case
1 CA-CV 25-1010 FC Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-10-30 Affirmed in part; vacated in part and remanded Kaltz v. Kaltz
1 CA-CV 26-0037 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-10-27 Affirmed LANGAN v. DAVIS
1 CA-CV 26-0001 FC Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-10-27 Affirmed Pulsipher v. Norris
1 CA-CV 26-0087 FC Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-10-23 Affirmed Lewis v. Cameron-Nichols
1 CA-JV 26-0041 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-10-09 Affirmed In Re Term of Parental Rights as to S.F. and S.F.
1 CA-CV 25-0563 PB Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-10-09 Affirmed Brandler v. Brandler
1 CA-CV 25-1052 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-09-25 Affirmed LOPRESTO v. WIGWAM
1 CA-CR 26-0004 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-09-24 Affirmed in part, vacated in part State v. Guerrero
1 CA-CV 25-0917 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-09-22 Affirmed Mallidi v. Valero
1 CA-IC 25-0035 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-09-02 Affirmed Roman Moreno v. Me Global Inc.
1 CA-CV 26-0048 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-08-28 Affirmed Lyons v. Pmi
1 CA-CV 25-0847 FC Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-08-28 Affirmed in part; vacated and remanded in part Hancock v. Hancock
1 CA-JV 26-0030 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-08-28 Vacated and remanded In Re Termination of Parental Rights as to K.C.
1 CA-CR 25-0320 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-08-27 Affirmed State v. Avila
1 CA-CR 25-0389 Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 2026-08-26 Affirmed State v. Johnson