The Hon. Karen S. Adam (Ret.) served as a judge for the Pima County Superior Court in Arizona. Adam was appointed to the bench by former Governor Jan Brewer in 2010, filling a vacancy created by the retirement of the Hon. Patricia G. Escher. She retired in 2015.
Adam was the Presiding Judge of the Pima County Juvenile Court (2011 to 2014). Over the course of her judicial career, Adam led major juvenile justice reform efforts. She instituted policies to unshackle children for court hearings, and she implemented detention alternatives through the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative.
Prior to her appointment, Adam was a commissioner for the Pima County Superior Court, a position to which she was named in 1987.
Adam earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona in 1972. She then completed a J.D. at the University of Arizona, James E. Rogers College of Law in 1976.
After graduating from law school, Adam began her legal career as an attorney for the Pima County Public Defender’s Office. She served in that capacity until 1981, at which time she became a magistrate for the Tucson City Court.
Her memberships have included the National Association of State Judicial Educators, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and the Self-Represented Litigant Network. She also served as president of the Board of the Children’s Center for Law and Policy as well as a consultant to Children and Family Futures and the National Drug Court Institute.