James B. Morse Jr.
Photograph courtesy of the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One.
Education and employment
James B. Morse Jr.
James B. Morse Jr. was appointed to the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One by Governor Douglas Ducey and began service on the Court of Appeals on November 6, 2017. Prior to his appointment, Judge Morse spent nearly 10 years with the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, where he served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, a Deputy Section Chief and Section Chief in the Southwest Border Crimes Unit, and as the Government Ethics Advisor. Judge Morse also worked in the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office where he served as a Deputy County Attorney and as an Assistant Bureau Chief. Judge Morse previously worked as a Law Clerk for United States District Judge James A. Teilborg, and as an associate at Snell & Wilmer in Phoenix, and Baker & Botts in Dallas.
Judge Morse graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, in Political Science from Arizona State University in 1991. He earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Virginia in 1995.
As a member of the Court of Appeals, Judge Morse has also served in the following capacities:
• Arizona Supreme Court Committee on Character and Fitness, September 30, 2021 – present
o Chair, January 1, 2024 – December 31, 2025
o Vice-Chair, September 30, 2021 – December 31, 2023
o Member, January 1, 2026 – present
• Member, Arizona Supreme Court Attorney Regulation Advisory Committee, January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025
• Member, Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee, July 2019 – February 2022
• Member, Judicial Conference Planning Committee, 2020 and 2021
Judicial record
10 opinions where James B. Morse Jr. sat on the panel, spanning 2019–2025.
By court
By disposition
Panel votes per year
How James B. Morse Jr.'s panel-seat count has shifted year by year. Overlaid with Clint Bolick for comparison (drop the overlay).
- James B. Morse Jr.
- Clint Bolick
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).
- Maria Elena Cruz 5 shared 5 aligned compare
- Jennifer B. Campbell 2 shared 2 aligned compare
- Jon W. Thompson 2 shared 2 aligned compare
- Paul J. McMurdie 2 shared 2 aligned compare
- Peter B. Swann 2 shared 2 aligned compare
- Angela K. Paton 1 shared 1 aligned compare
- Ann A. Scott Timmer 1 shared 1 aligned compare
- Brian Y. Furuya 1 shared 1 aligned compare
- Clint Bolick 1 shared 1 aligned compare
- David D. Weinzweig 1 shared 1 aligned compare
Recent opinions
15 most recent opinions where James B. Morse Jr. sat on the panel.
| Docket | Court | Filed | Disposition | Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CV-24-0143-PR | Ariz. | 2025-04-29 | Reversed and remanded | Cravens v. Montano |
| 1 CA-CV 24-0308 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2025-02-18 | Affirmed | Desanto v. Cleverly |
| 1 CA-JV 22-0059 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2023-03-07 | Affirmed | Bisono E. v. Dcs, I.W. |
| 1 CA-SA 20-0244 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2021-04-06 | Denied | Trinh v. Hon garcia/state |
| 1 CA-IC 20-0011 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2020-12-01 | Affirmed | Barnella v. island/wesco |
| 1 CA-CR 19-0343 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2020-04-30 | Affirmed | State v. Larrabee |
| 1 CA-CV 18-0420 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2019-08-20 | Affirmed | State v. Az Regents |
| 1 CA-CR 18-0816 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2019-07-30 | Affirmed | State v. Dominguez |
| 1 CA-CV 18-0353-FC | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2019-04-15 | Affirmed | Halloum v. Hasasneh |
| 1 CA-CR 18-0449 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2019-03-28 | Affirmed | State v. Mayes |