Blog
6/23/16 The United States Supreme Court issued a ruling today upholding the constitutionality of the University of Texas’ using affirmative action as a factor in its admissions decisions. The decision affirms the ideals behind affirmative action, recognizing the value in achieving diversity in higher education. Affirmative action is a policy, in use around the…
6/22/16 In State v. Jean, No. 1 CA-CR 14-0444 (6/21/16) the defendant was charged with possession of drugs. Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers had information that a commercial truck was being used to transport drugs. To further their investigation the DPS, and without obtaining a search warrant, placed a GPS tracking device on…
6/22/16 Two House bills aimed at blocking the effectiveness of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration policy have been defeated. Since 2012, the DACA program has offered an opportunity for those brought to the US as children to earn a 2-year, renewable, legal non-citizen status if the person has no serious criminal…
6/21/16 Arizona’s Entrapment statute, 13 A.R.S. § 206(A), provides that to claim entrapment, the defendant must admit by the defendant’s testimony or other evidence the substantial elements of the offense charged. If a defendant is able to meet this burden then they are entitled to an Entrapment Jury instructions. In State v. Gray, CR20132758-001…
6/21/16 A recent report by the New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice indicated a national trend in the reduction of violent crime, including an overall 7% reduction in the national imprisonment rate. Unlike every other state, Arizona requires even non-violent offenders to serve 85% of their sentence. Arizona also has…
6/20/16 The Exclusionary Rule is a constitutional law principle which says in its basic terms that prosecutors should not be able to use evidence at trial which the police obtained illegally in violation of a person’s constitutionally guaranteed rights. The idea is the rights would mean nothing if the police could ignore those constitutional rights…
6/17/16 In Arizona, a DUI involving prescription medications can be charged as DUI impairment to the slightest degree (28 A.R.S. § 1381.A.1) and driving with a controlled substance in the person’s body (28 A.R.S. § 1381.A.3). An affirmative defense to the A.3 charge is that the person was using the drug in accordance with the…
6/17/16 Photo enforcement for Speed and Red Light violations are still authorized under Arizona state law. Summons for violations can be issued under Arizona Rules of Civil Procedure, usually by personal service or by alternative service specifically authorized under 28 A.R.S. § 1602. To be valid under 28-1602, the service must be: …sent by…
6/16/16 While legislation has been introduced by Arizona Congressman Ruben Gallego which seeks to aid noncitizen US military veterans who have been deported for relatively minor crimes in returning to the US, House Republicans recently offered a proposal to ban beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, from serving in the military…
6/15/16 Kids will be kids is a meaningless phrase in today’s society. In bygone times kids “got up to mischief”; today, kindergartners are being charged with assault and sexual harassment. About 10 years ago, my legal assistant’s 10-year-old son was threatened with arrest out of a local Valley school for having a scout survival tool…