Gordon Thompson
The Arizona Court of Appeals in State v. Francis, No. 1 CA-CR 16-0051 (1/3/17), held that the crime of promoting prison contraband requires proof the defendant knew the item of property was in fact prison contraband. In the case, the defendant was detained at a Jail Annex on unrelated charges. Officers took the defendant’s…
The Real ID Act was passed by Congress in 2005 based on recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The Act sets standards for state-issued identification accepted for the purposes of air travel or accessing restricted federal buildings, nuclear power plants and military bases/facilities, etc. Effective January 22, 2018, air travelers, etc. who do not…
In State v. Cope, No. 1 CA-CR 14-0596, (12/30/16), the Court of Appeals held that the offense of Shoplifting under 13A.R.S. § 1805.A.1, is a lesser included offense of Organized Retail Theft, 13 A.R.S. § 1819.A.1 and therefore the defendant could not be convicted of and punished for both offenses. The court went on…
On December 22, 2016, in a divided 2-1 decision, in Ishak v. McClennen, No. 1 CA-SA 16-0134 (12/22/16) Division One of the Arizona Court of Appeals held that for Medical Marijuana DUI cases in which the defendant wishes to have the jury instructed on the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act (AMMA) Cardholder affirmative defense, the…
Medical Marijuana DUI cases in Arizona have two fundamental differences from DUI Alcohol cases which help the Medical Marijuana DUI defense at trial. With Medical Marijuana DUI cases now going to trial and in some cases the State seeking to prove to the jury the Marijuana (THC) levels found in the defendant’s blood,…
Division Two of the Arizona Court of Appeals recently held that the trial court erred when it refused to suppress the use at trial of drugs and illegal weapons found in a search of an alleged shoplifter’s backpack. In the case, State v. Synder, No. 2 CA-CR 2015-0077, 10/7/16, the defendant was detained and…
The US Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) Phoenix field office director has identified DUI convictions as one of the biggest factors their office uses to determine priorities for arrest and deportation. Stuart Bailey, a Scottsdale restaurateur, is now fighting to remain in the country where the business he founded more than 20 years…
As of today, December 22, 2016, the state of the law with regard to medical marijuana defenses to DUIs in Arizona is rapidly changing because of two legal issues. In Arizona it is a violation of DUI laws to be driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while…
Certain sections of Arizona’s highways will soon be designated zero tolerance safety corridors, where the State intends to saturate traffic enforcement efforts in an attempt to curb traffic accidents, injuries and deaths in areas identified as high-risk. The new enforcement efforts have already gone into effect for two sections of I-10 in central…
Phoenix Police Department Chief Jeri Williams has reassigned about 170 officers to patrol duty in an attempt to beef up its police presence on the street and better police response time. Hiring has been essentially frozen since the economic crisis of 2008, leading to a decrease in law enforcement staff from about 3,400 in…