Patricia Starr has been appointed by Governor Jan Brewer to the Maricopa County Superior Court. Starr has been a Maricopa County Superior Court commissioner since 2011.
Prior to her appointment as commissioner, Starr served as Capital Staff Attorney for the Arizona Death Penalty Judicial Assistance Project (2008-11); Assistant Attorney General for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (2005-08; 2002-03); Deputy County Attorney for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (2003-05; 1993-2002); and Law Clerk to the Honorable Jefferson Lankford with the Arizona Court of Appeals (1992-93). Accordingly, her previous experience includes assisting trial judges with death penalty cases; handling insurance fraud, habeas matters, juvenile delinquency and civil commitment hearings; and representing the state in capital, criminal, juvenile and sexually violent persons appeals.
Starr received her Bachelor of Science (1987) and Juris Doctorate (1992) from the University of Arizona.