5/23/16 The second police officer to stand trial thus far on charges stemming from the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, has been found not guilty on all charges by the judge. Officer Edward Nero was one of the first officers on scene to interact with Mr. Gray, though not implicated in the actions…
5/23/16 In a unanimous opinion issued on May 19, 2016, the United States Supreme Court held that a criminal defendant’s Sixth Amendment Right to a Speedy Trial does not apply to the sentencing phase of the proceedings. In Betterman v. Montana, No. 14–1457, the defendant plead guilty in Montana state court to the offense…
5/20/16 A Florida man, travelling home through Georgia with his parents and fiancée, was killed after a bizarre confrontation with Sheriff’s deputies. Having recently been behaving strangely and alarming his loved ones, possibly due to ingestion of a synthetic form of marijuana, his family pulled over and called police to help him. Bodycam videos…
5/18/16 Yesterday concluded a two-day preliminary hearing in the second degree murder case against former Mesa Police Department Officer Philip Brailsford, charged in the January 18, 2016 shooting death of Daniel Shaver. At the conclusion of the hearing Judge Sam Myers ruled that the State had presented enough evidence to establish probable cause for the…
6/2/26 It is of particular importance in a second offense DUI situation to make sure the amount charged by the court for Maricopa County Jail fees is correct; although this fact is sometimes unknown and other times simply overlooked, the jail rates for second offense sentences are 50% less than for first offenses. For instance,…
5/16/16 United State District Court Judge G. Murray Snow issued a ruling on Friday finding Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, as well as three of his top aides, in contempt of court for violation of court orders prohibiting tactics deemed racial profiling as a means to enforce federal immigration policy, engaging in “multiple acts of…
5/13/16 It is illogical to expect children, especially teenagers, to act like adults. Too often adults have trouble acting like adults. Yet several states in the nation have legislated mandatory handling of 17-year-olds as adults in their criminal justice systems; in New York and North Carolina, that mandatory age is 16. That tide appears…
5/13/16 It is alleged by the ACLU in letters forwarded earlier this week to Tucson Police Chief Magnus and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Johnson, that the Tucson Police Department has baselessly and illegally detained people on immigration checks performed under Arizona Senate Bill 1070, far in excess of what is required to complete the…
5/13/16 The latest data from 2014 reveals the top intersections for crashes and red light running within the City of Phoenix, of which the worst is 67th Avenue and Indian School Road. The data further indicates a decrease in the number of DUI-related accidents, while the incidence of crashes arising from running a red light…
5/11/16 Late last month the Maricopa County Superior Court case against the man accused of being the Phoenix Freeway shooter, Leslie Merritt, Jr., was dismissed without prejudice (see our blog post here). Yesterday a hearing was held on the defense’s motion to unseal pleadings, which would lift the existing gag order issued by Judge…
Gordon Thompson
DUI & Criminal Attorney
(602) 467-3680
