PETER J. ECKERSTROM 400 West Congress Street Tucson, Arizona Office phone: (520)

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1 PETER J. ECKERSTROM 400 West Congress Street Tucson, Arizona Office phone: (520) PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND & EXPERIENCE Judge, Arizona Court of Appeals Appointed by Governor after merit selection process to intermediate state court of appeals; selected by fellow judges to act as Vice Chief Judge and administer one of two appellate panels as Presiding Judge of that panel ( ); position on court entails authoring, or deliberating on, hundreds of decisions and opinions each year addressing a wide variety of legal issues, both civil and criminal (citations to all published opinions I have authored available upon request); have endeavored each year to improve judicial skills through exhaustive continuing education (itemized list of seminars also available on request); active involvement in several state commissions designed to improve the quality of Arizona s judicial branch present Law Office of Peter J. Eckerstrom Private practice in the area of criminal defense and personal injury, including extensive representation of indigent persons facing capital punishment by federal court appointment; considerable advocacy in the areas of both trial and appellate litigation of both criminal and civil matters. Pima County Public Defender s Office Represented indigent defendants as to felony charges; lead counsel in over 800 felony cases including the most serious offenses; earned post of Trial Team Supervisor. Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison Commercial litigation for high technology ventures in the Silicon Valley as an associate with a large corporate law firm of over 400 attorneys based in San Francisco, CA.

2 EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND Stanford University, School of Law Palo Alto, California Doctor of Jurisprudence with Distinction, 1986 Attended September 1983 through June 1986 Awards, Honors, Citations: Graduated with Distinction (an honor based on grade average and class standing); Kirkwood Moot Court Competition Finalist (did not win); R. Summers Trial Practice Prize (for exceptional performance in Sergeant s at Law ); co-authored Law Review Note, The Applicability of the Necessity Defense to Civil Disobedience, 39 Stanford Law Review 1173 (This article has tangibly influenced federal law limiting the use of the common law necessity defense when that defense has been asserted for acts of civil disobedience.)see United States v. Schoon, 971 F.2d 193, , 200 (9th Cir. 1991); United States v. Santana, 184 F. Supp. 131, 138 (D. Puerto Rico 2001); United States v. Brodhead, 714 F. Supp. 593, 597 (D. Mass. 1989). Yale University New Haven, Connecticut Bachelor of Arts, Magna Cum Laude, 1982 With Distinction in American Studies Attended September 1978 through June 1982 Awards, Honors, Citations: Graduated Magna Cum Laude (with high honors ) and with Distinction in American Studies (an honor awarded for receiving a grade average of 3.9 or higher within the major); awarded the Lutheran Brotherhood Scholarship. Service on Commissions and Boards PROFESSIONAL AND PUBLIC SERVICE Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct present Appointed by Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court; commission assesses formal complaints against judicial officers filed by members of the bar or the public at large; commission investigates complaints and has authority to impose both formal and informal sanctions, ranging from reprimand to removal from judicial office, when appropriate. Arizona Commission on Judicial Performance Review Appointed by Chief Justice of Arizona Supreme Court; active commission established to assure judicial accountability and improve judicial performance. Commission evaluates data received from legal community and public through questionnaires and public hearings

3 and presents information to voters. Commission votes as to whether each judge on the upcoming election ballot meets or does not meet standards. Active commission that meets regularly to evaluate the performance of numerous merit-selected judges before their upcoming election cycles. Arizona Supreme Court Commission on Minorities in the Judiciary Chairman, Diversity Subcommittee Appointed by the Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court; primary task of commission to encourage greater diversity and cultural competence in the judicial branch of Arizona; current Chairman of subcommittee tasked with encouraging qualified minority members of the bar to apply for judicial positions and assisting those applicants in effectively presenting their qualifications to the appropriate appointing authority. Arizona Commission on Court Technology Appointed by Chief Justice; active commission established to coordinate the development of computer technology for the state courts of Arizona. Determines how significant resources will be directed with a goal toward integrating to the extent possible, the technology systems of our state s numerous appellate, superior, and limited jurisdiction courts. Board of Visitors University of Arizona, Rogers College of Law 2004-present Invited by Dean Toni Massaro to sit on board, together will other community leaders, to assist her in improving the reputation and resources of the college of law. Arizona Judges Association Appellate Judges Representative Elected by colleagues as appellate representative to executive committee of professional organization of Arizona judges. Organization represents our members interests in the public and political arena; advocates for both judicial independence in the context of mechanisms which assure professional accountability; also advocates for reasonable compensation and retirement benefits for judicial officers. Federal Habeas Corpus Oversight Committee Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Acted as attorney representative to committee made up federal judges and administrators. Met quarterly to review capital habeas funding requests for all Ninth Circuit capital cases and promulgated benchmarks for scope of appropriate litigation of those cases.

4 Contributions to Legal Profession through Teaching President Morris K. Udall Inn of Court Adjunct Professor University of Arizona Rogers College of Law Topics: Taught Trial Practice to third-year law students, including specific instruction in the presentation of opening statements, direct examinations, cross-examinations, objection practice, and closing arguments. Invited Speaker Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference January 10, 2000 Topic: The Important Role of Federal Courts in Assuring the Fairness of State Capital Litigation. Audience: Appellate and District Court Judges of the Ninth Circuit. Speaker or Instructor Have presented at numerous continuing education seminars (several annually) both as judge and, previously, as private practitioner. Asked to do so at various events sponsored by the Arizona Bar Association, the Arizona Judicial Conference, the Pima County Bar Association, Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and the University of Arizona Law School. Comprehensive listing of specific events and topics of instruction available on request. Other Service to Profession and Community Judge Moot Court University of Arizona Rogers School of Law 2003-present, annually (Presided at mock oral arguments conducted twice annually for semi-finals and to prepare law school s national team.) Host Judge International Delegations of Judges from Evolving Democracies Have acted as host on behalf of our court for separate visits of judges from Ghana, the Phillippines, Ukraine, and Kazakstan and facilitated dialogue on topic of judicial

5 independence from political arm of government, a topic of central importance in countries with no such tradition. Visits were sponsored by the William H. Rehnquist Center. Attorney Volunteer The Justice Project Contributed hundreds of hours of pro bono legal work to project overseen by University of Arizona College of Law; directed law students in litigating on behalf of indigent convicts who the project has identified as worthy of further attention to their cases. Through project, drafted successful post-conviction action on behalf of Donna Jean Bennett, a petition which ultimately resulted in the reversal of her conviction for first-degree murder and the ultimate dismissal of those charges. Coach YMCA, Youth Basketball teams (Teams included my son) present PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS American Bar Association-Judicial Section; State Bar of Arizona; Pima County Bar Association. Bar Admissions: State of Arizona, 1988 State of California, 1986 U.S. District Court, District of Arizona, 1994 Admitted to Practice before Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1997 PERSONAL INTERESTS Fantasy baseball (have participated in the same league with fellow Tucson attorneys since 1988); master s water polo (fun way to stay in shape; in hiatus since the birth of my son); NCAA basketball enthusiast (we live two blocks from the University of Arizona Basketball arena); birdwatching (I keep a life list and Arizona is a great place to do it).