Jennifer M. Perkins
Education and employment
The Honorable Jennifer M. Perkins began service on the Arizona Court of Appeals, Division One, on October 30, 2017. At the time of her appointment by Governor Douglas Ducey, Judge Perkins was Assistant Solicitor General for the State of Arizona.
Judge Perkins was born in Portales, New Mexico, and primarily raised in Albuquerque. She attended the prestigious Albuquerque Academy from 1988-1995, before moving to Washington D.C. to attend the Elliott School of International Affairs at the George Washington University as a National Merit Scholar. Therafter, she relocated again to Dallas, Texas, and earned her juris doctor from the SMU Dedman School of Law, graduating cum laude in 2002.
Judge Perkins started her career at the law firm of Browning & Peifer (now Peifer, Hanson, & Mullins) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While there, she litigated complex commercial matters including class action plaintiff and defense work, and assisted with employment and contract litigation. In 2003, the judge accompanied the Honorable James O. Browning in transitioning to the federal district court bench, serving as his first law clerk.
After her clerkship, Judge Perkins moved to Arizona to work for the Institute for Justice, Arizona Chapter, a public interest law firm. She spent five years with IJ-AZ litigating civil rights cases in Arizona and across the country. In 2009, the judge became Disciplinary Counsel for the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct, where she reviewed and prosecuted ethics complaints against state court judges throughout Arizona. After five years serving the state in this capacity, Judge Perkins entered private practice by joining Mandel Young, an appellate law firm in Phoenix. While there, she worked on state and federal appeals involving a wide range of legal subjects, including complex business disputes, property rights, judicial ethics, and personal injury matters.
In January 2015, Judge Perkins joined the Office of the Arizona Attorney General to serve as the first Assistant Solicitor General; in that capacity, she was responsible for oversight of Attorney General Opinions and served as ethics counsel to the entire office. In addition to these two primary roles, the judge assisted on a variety of matters including trial and appellate litigation of election-related matters; federal appellate litigation with the Federalism Unit; state criminal appeals; and drafting amicus briefs on behalf of Arizona in state and federal courts.
Judicial record
1066 opinions where Jennifer M. Perkins sat on the panel, spanning 2017–2026.
By court
By disposition
Panel votes per year
How Jennifer M. Perkins's panel-seat count has shifted year by year.
Add ?vs=<another-judge-slug> to the URL to overlay a second judge, or click compare next to any co-panelist below.
- 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).
- David D. Weinzweig 254 shared 252 aligned 2 split compare
- Michael J. Brown 223 shared 222 aligned 1 partial compare
- Randall M. Howe 201 shared 201 aligned compare
- Maria Elena Cruz 132 shared 132 aligned compare
- Diane M. Johnsen 118 shared 116 aligned 1 partial 1 split compare
- Cynthia J. Bailey 113 shared 113 aligned compare
- Michael S. Catlett 88 shared 88 aligned compare
- D. Steven Williams 76 shared 74 aligned 2 split compare
- David B. Gass 76 shared 76 aligned compare
- Samuel Anderson Thumma 74 shared 74 aligned compare
Recent opinions
15 most recent opinions where Jennifer M. Perkins sat on the panel.
| Docket | Court | Filed | Disposition | Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 CA-TX 25-0004 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-26 | Affirmed | Ador v. Smith |
| 1 CA-CR 25-0389 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-26 | Affirmed | State v. Johnson |
| 1 CA-CR 26-0075 PRPC | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-26 | Denied | State v. Orduno |
| 1 CA-CR 26-0063 PRPC | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-26 | Denied | State v. Jacobson |
| 1 CA-CR 25-0307 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-25 | Affirmed | State v. Workman |
| 1 CA-CV 25-0984 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-25 | Affirmed | SHUMATE v. DAVIS/BROADBENT |
| 1 CA-CR 26-0036 PRPC | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-13 | Denied | State v. Braband |
| 1 CA-CR 24-0403 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-12 | Affirmed | State v. Chakhachiro |
| 1 CA-CV 25-0972 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-11 | Vacated and remanded | Fanene v. Velasquez |
| 1 CA-CV 25-0854 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-10 | Dismissed | WRI SUMMIT KUERSCHNER |
| 1 CA-JV 26-0026 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-08-03 | Affirmed | In Re Term of Parental Rights as to A.C. |
| 1 CA-CR 25-0106 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-07-28 | Affirmed | State v. Yohannes |
| 1 CA-CR 25-0466 PRPC | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-07-22 | Denied | State v. Quintero |
| 1 CA-JV 26-0013 | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-07-20 | Affirmed | In Re Term of Parental Rights as to J.W. |
| 1 CA-CV 25-0834 FC | Ariz. Ct. App. Div. 1 | 2026-07-16 | Affirmed | Smotek v. Martin |