Blog
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…
5/11/16 A person said to have “paid their debt to society” may call to mind a person newly-released from prison. For many Americans, however, their release from prison is only the start of further payment, in the form of missed opportunities to housing, jobs to support themselves and their families, education and training, and more. …
5/10/16 Less than two months after the March 16th opinion by Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich stating third-party contractors operating photo enforcement cameras for several Valley cities were not properly licensed in Arizona, Scottsdale resumes its photo enforcement operation on Friday, May 13th, 2016. For more information, see the azcentral.com article below: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2016/05/10/photo-enforcement-returning-scottsdale-streets-friday/84178802/ To see…
5/9/16 In State v. Robert Gear, the defendant is a phyisician. He was indicted in Navajo County Superior Court for one count of forgery under A.R.S. § 13–2002 and one count of fraudulent schemes and artifices under A.R.S. § 13–2310. The basis of the prosecution is a contention that the defendant falsely attested he had…
5/9/16 In State v. Anthony Benard Primous, Ct. Apps., No. 1 CA-CR 15-0181 (5/5/16) the defendant was charged with possession of marijuana which was found on his person after he was searched by a Phoenix Police Officer. In the trial court the defendant filed a motion to suppress the use of the marijuana by alleging…
5/6/16 In State v. Angel Pete Ruiz, No. 2 CA-CR 2015-0036, (4/27/16), the defendant was charged with multiple offenses including aggravated robbery. The relevant facts are as follows: in November 2013, a homeland security agent (Agent) conducting undercover surveillance at a truck stop watched six to eight men move bales of marijuana from a trailer…