Hon. Kathleen H. Mead is a judge for the Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona. She was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jan Brewer in October 2013.
During her judicial tenure, Mead has held assignments in the Criminal and Family Courts.
Prior to her appointment, she had presided as a commissioner of the Maricopa County Superior Court since 2003. As such, she played a pivotal role on the team that launched the Maricopa County Search Warrant Center, a court that reviews and issues search warrants for law enforcement.
Her legal career also included managing her own private practice (1994 to 2003) and working for one year as a deputy county attorney with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (1993 to 1994).
Mead received a B.A. in sociology from South Dakota State University in 1980. Then, after earning her paralegal certificate from the Denver Paralegal Institute in 1983, she spent time as a legal secretary with Warner Angle (1983 to 1984) and a paralegal at Beer & Toone (1984 to 1988). Mead went on to complete a J.D. at Arizona State University, Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law in 1988.
After graduating from law school, she began her legal career as a clerk for the Arizona Court of Appeals (1988 to 1993).
Mead served as a volunteer for the Southwest Valley Disaster Action Team through the Red Cross and has participated in the Juvenile Drug Court Program.
She is registered as a Republican.