Arizona

Incoming President Robert Carlson sees expansive roles for attorneys

Robert Carlson hopes that during his term as president the ABA will carry on its work toward bringing in more members and promoting the importance of an independent judicial system. He’d also like to see continued work involving changes in legal education and bar admissions, and the promotion of wellness for lawyers and law students.

Sep 1, 2018 1:35 AM CDT

ABA Announcements

2019 REGULAR STATE DELEGATE ELECTION Pursuant to Section 6.3(a) of the ABA’s Constitution, 17 states will elect State Delegates for three-year terms beginningat the adjournment of the 2019 Annual Meeting. The deadline for filing petitionsis Dec. 4. For rules and procedures, go toambar.org/2019StateDelegateElection.If you are interested in filing or have…

Aug 1, 2018 11:30 AM CDT

Potential closure plan for Arizona Summit discussed while accreditation appeal is pending

Updated: If Arizona Summit School of Law, a for-profit InfiLaw campus, loses its ABA accreditation, students may have the option to finish their education at Arizona State University’s law school.

Jul 27, 2018 11:23 AM CDT

Arizona Summit loses accreditation approval, which may be a first for an operating law school

Accreditation approval has been withdrawn for Arizona Summit Law School, the council of the ABA’s Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar announced last week.

Jun 11, 2018 9:30 AM CDT

How one court preserves judicial independence through strong intergovernmental relations

When I meet other judges within the American Bar Association, we invariably start comparing our positions, appointment processes and possible political influences. When I explain that I am an appointed presiding judge of a city court, they frequently ask how our process works and how I avoid being involved in political considerations in setting fines or establishing processes.

Jun 7, 2018 7:10 AM CDT

Police identify divorce litigant believed to have killed 2 paralegals and 4 others

Police in Arizona have identified divorce litigant Dwight Lamon Jones as the suspect who killed six people in the Phoenix area before he fatally shot himself Monday morning at an extended-stay hotel in Scottsdale.

Jun 5, 2018 10:34 AM CDT

Federal judge considers $1M in fines for prison medical provider’s ‘intractable failures’

In late December, federal Magistrate Judge David Duncan waved an iPad in front of his Phoenix courtroom, enraged. He had just read a local news article suggesting that the Arizona Department of Corrections and its for-profit medical provider Corizon Health were gaming a system put in place to ensure adequate…

Feb 27, 2018 1:55 PM CST

Some states are welcoming back ex-offenders to work behind bars

In 2010, Cindy Stubbs was nearing the end of a 14-year sentence in a South Carolina prison, determined never to return. A mother of four, locked up on gun and drug trafficking charges since she was 34, Stubbs worked inside the prison translating textbooks to Braille. Three months before her…

Jan 18, 2018 1:25 PM CST

Joe Arpaio announces bid for US Senate seat from Arizona

Joe Arpaio, the 85-year-old former lawman pardoned by President Donald Trump just weeks after being convicted for contempt of court, is running for the U.S. Senate in Arizona. CNN, the New York Times, the Arizona Republic and the Washington Examiner all have stories. The former Maricopa County sheriff told the…

Jan 9, 2018 3:40 PM CST

Federal judge upholds former Sheriff Arpaio’s pardon and dismisses contempt case

A federal judge in Arizona has dismissed the guilty verdict in the contempt case against former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio while reserving judgment on whether all former rulings in the case should be vacated.

Oct 4, 2017 3:01 PM CDT

Hispanics still treated differently during traffic stops in county once policed under Arpaio: audit

The likelihood of Hispanics being stopped and searched by sheriff’s deputies in Maricopa County, Arizona, is still significantly greater than that for whites according to an audit by criminal justice researchers at Arizona State University, The Associated Press reports. The study looked at 31,000 traffic stops from July 2015 through…

Sep 27, 2017 3:23 PM CDT

Nevada plans to use fentanyl in upcoming execution

Nearly a year ago, Nevada death row inmate Scott Dozier asked to be executed, telling a state court judge he would forego his appeals. A doctor deemed Dozier, who was convicted of the 2002 shooting and dismemberment death of 22-year-old Jeremiah Miller, competent to make the decision. But a problem…

Sep 5, 2017 7:00 AM CDT

Some states now require all attorneys to report wrongful convictions

Prosecuting attorneys are supposed to be ministers of justice and, as a result, have enhanced ethical obligations. The ABA included enhanced duties in its Model Rules of Professional Conduct requiring prosecutors to reveal information about a wrongful conviction. Now, some states are extending this duty beyond prosecutors to all attorneys.

Sep 1, 2017 1:40 AM CDT

Trump pardons former sheriff Arpaio less than a month after his contempt conviction

Updated: President Donald Trump pardoned Joe Arpaio on Friday night, less than a month after the former Maricopa County, Arizona, sheriff was found guilty of contempt of court for violating a federal judge’s order to stop detaining citizens based only on a suspicion they were in the country illegally.

Aug 25, 2017 8:42 PM CDT

Trump ‘seriously’ thinking of pardon for convicted sheriff Arpaio

President Donald Trump may pardon Joe Arpaio, the high-profile former Arizona sheriff convicted of criminal contempt in July after he ignored a judge’s order to stop detaining people he suspected were undocumented immigrants.

Aug 14, 2017 4:57 PM CDT