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The cases discussed in this series are primarily based on memorandum decisions issued by the Arizona Court of Appeals. Memorandum decisions are only binding on that individual case and are not legal precedent for other cases. However, their discussion of the facts, legal issues presented and sentences imposed are a good guide for what…
In the wake of the 1/25/17 Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements Executive Order, and a subsequent 2/20/17 memorandum issued by the Department of Homeland Security dealing with the implementation of that order, there is an increased need for legal representation for illegal immigrants, and even for legal immigrants, who are charged with a…
The Phoenix Police Department will conduct a pilot program called Virtual Block Watch, where private citizens and business owners can register their personal outdoor video cameras with the Police Department. The system would virtually map the registered cameras, and notify police where potential video footage can be found if a crime is committed…
An Executive Order signed by Donald Trump on January 25, 2017 entitled Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements has raised many concerns over the scope and potential impacts of the order. The order calls for the immediate construction of a physical wall (“a contiguous…impassable physical barrier”) along the southern border between the United…
Oral arguments were heard Tuesday in the New York Court of Appeals, the State’s highest court, in Facebook’s ongoing battle with the New York County District Attorney’s Office over bulk search warrants for account/user data. The case stems from the 2013 issuance of search warrants for 381 Facebook users’ data , including data from…
Arizona House of Representatives Bill 2305, which would make it a criminal offense in Arizona for a passenger in a motor vehicle to fail to provide ID to police in certain circumstances, was approved in panel yesterday. Although Deputy Pima County Attorney Kathleen Mayer, who testified in favor of this bill before the Arizona…
In State v. Patrick McLeod Nissley, No. CR-15-0393-PR, (2/1/17), the Arizona Supreme Court held that nonconsensual warrantless blood draws as authorized by A.R.S. § 28-1388(E), Arizona’s Medical Blood Draw Exception, require the patient/ defendant either consent to medical treatment or be incapable of consenting to the treatment. The court also said the burden of…
Arizona Senate Bill 1054 seeks to make DUI testing mandatory in all collisions resulting in serious injury or death, where probable cause exists to believe the person caused the accident or where a person is cited for a wide variety of traffic violations. Refusal to submit to DUI testing under those conditions would…
Phoenix Police Department union representatives have described the current state of staffing within the Department as a crisis, citing reduced staffing leading to overtime costs and overwork for its officers. Hiring has essentially been frozen in the wake of the economic crisis of 2008, leading to a 10% reduction in the number of officers…
The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety reports the number of DUI arrests made by the annual East Valley DUI Task Force fell 25% between 2014-2016, while DUI arrests in Arizona as a whole fell by 14% in that time. However, Underage DUI cases are increasing, as is the median blood alcohol level of…