Governor Katie Hobbs Announces Appointment of Dawn R. Walton and Nicole P. Savel to Pima County Superior Court

Phoenix, AZ – Today, Governor Katie Hobbs announced the appointment of Dawn R. Walton and Nicole P. Savel to the Pima County Superior Court. 

Judge Walton has served as a court commissioner on the Pima County Superior Court since 2024. She was a court commissioner for the Maricopa County Superior Court from 2021 to 2024. Prior to joining the court, she worked as an attorney at the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, specializing in dependency cases and administrative licensing matters. Previously, she served as a public utilities specialist for the U.S. Department of Energy, and has held several roles at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University.

Judge Savel has served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona since 2004, where she was Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney from 2021 to 2025, and Chief of the office’s Tucson Criminal Division from 2014 to 2019. She previously served in the Pima County Attorney’s Office and Gila County Attorney’s Office.

“I am proud to appoint two highly qualified attorneys to the Pima County Superior Court,” said Governor Katie Hobbs. “Each brings decades of public service to these new roles, and I am confident they will continue to excel as they have throughout their careers.”

The appointments are to fill the vacancies created by the retirement of Judge Christopher C. Browning and the appointment of Judge D. Greg Sakall as a U.S. Magistrate Judge.