Arizona

Ogletree Fights Demand for Bill Copies to Audit Legal Work Law Firm Did for Maricopa County Attorney

An Arizona judge last week gave a green light to a lawsuit seeking to force a well-known law firm to turn over copies of its bills for representing the Maricopa County attorney’s office and sheriff’s office during a high-profile power struggle with county supervisors. Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart…

May 23, 2011 5:35 PM CDT

Judge Questioned in Court Bribery Investigation Removed From Criminal Cases

Jim Martin, a New Mexico judge who was questioned about allegations that resulted in bribery charges against a fellow state court jurist, was recently removed from hearing criminal cases, to avoid any perceptions of conflict of interest, the Associated Press reported. Michael Murphy, who with Martin sits in the 3rd…

May 20, 2011 6:17 PM CDT

Famed NY Deli Sues re Coronary-Causing Cuisine, Says Ariz Upstart Doesn’t Control High-Cal Schtick

After receiving a cease-and-desist letter from an Arizona eatery that specializes in food that has a “taste worth dying for,” the owners of a famous New York deli decided that the Heart Attack Grill had a lot of chutzpah to complain about their Triple Bypass Sandwich. They have now filed…

May 11, 2011 12:51 AM CDT

Fiesta Bowl Seeks New GC After Second Internal Probe Questions Compliance

Updated: The Fiesta Bowl has named a new interim general counsel after an internal report found evidence of campaign finance violations, inappropriate expenditures and excessive pay to top executives at the organization. Bingham McCutchen partner Nathan Hochman has the interim job, replacing Snell & Wilmer partner Craig Williams, according to…

May 3, 2011 1:05 PM CDT

Arizona Appeals Court to Hear Arguments on Spa’s Right to Use Foot-Nibbling Fish

The Arizona Court of Appeals will hear arguments on Wednesday on a spa owner’s right to use imported fish from China that nibble dead skin off feet. The Goldwater Institute filed the suit on behalf of Cindy Vong, the owner of LaVie Nails and Spa in Gilbert, according to the…

Apr 26, 2011 12:55 PM CDT

9th Circuit Upholds Stay on Arizona Immigration Law

A U.S. district court judge did not abuse her discretion in blocking portions of Arizona’s 2010 law that aims to identify, prosecute and deport undocumented immigrants, the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today. According to the Associated Press the law, known as the Support Our Law…

Apr 11, 2011 7:20 PM CDT

Convicted of Manslaughter in Stabbing Death, Lawyer Is MIA at Verdict, Now Sought on Bench Warrant

After attending every day of his manslaughter trial in the 2009 stabbing death of an Arizona State University student, a Tempe lawyer was missing in action when he was found guilty last week. Daniel Gukeisen, 39, is being sought on a bench warrant, reports the Arizona Republic. Although Gukeisen could…

Apr 11, 2011 10:00 AM CDT

Prosecutors and Judges to Join Police at DWI Checkpoints to Enforce New ‘No Refusal’ Law

In what is billed as a first-of-a-kind law enforcement effort in Jasper County, Mo., prosecutors and judges will be joining police at drunken-driving checkpoints, starting tonight, to enforce a new “no refusal” statute in the state. If motorists who seem to be driving while intoxicated refuse to take a breath…

Apr 1, 2011 10:21 PM CDT

Unique New Ariz. Law Bans Abortion Based On Race or Gender of Fetus

A new law in Arizona makes it a crime to make a decision to abort a fetus based on its ethnicity or gender Billed as what is likely the first such statute in the country, as far as the ethnicity provision is concerned, the law makes it a felony to…

Mar 31, 2011 11:29 PM CDT

Lawyer’s Lie Re Her Claim to Channel Thoughts of the Dead to Client Results in 1-Year Suspension

A hearing officer had recommended only a six-month suspension for Arizona attorney Charna Johnson, who admittedly had claimed to serve as a medium channeling the thoughts of a client’s dead wife to him but denied sexual involvement with the man. But the disciplinary commission of the state supreme court said…

Mar 23, 2011 8:05 PM CDT

Critics Say Ariz. Bills to Change Judicial Merit Selection Are a Legislative Power Grab

A conservative lawmaker in Arizona has introduced several bills that would change the state’s merit selection process for appellate judges and for trial judges in its two most populous counties. Critics say the bills introduced by Republican Sen. Ron Gould are an apparent attempt to politicize the judicial selection process…

Mar 17, 2011 1:49 PM CDT

A Murder Defendant Goes Free, an Ethics Complaint Is Filed, and County Atty Blames Deputy

An Arizona county attorney accused of misconduct that resulted in the release of a murder defendant is pointing the finger of blame at his onetime chief deputy. Apache County Attorney Michael Whiting told the Arizona Republic that he believed investigators were allowed to contact a jailed defendant without notifying his…

Mar 9, 2011 5:53 PM CST

Novel New Indictment Hits Loughner with 49 Counts, Including Murder Charge re Chief Judge Roll

A federal grand jury in Arizona has issued a sweeping new superseding indictment against suspect Jared Lee Loughner, who is accused in a January supermarket parking lot shooting rampage in Tucson. It left six dead, including Chief U.S. District Judge John Roll, and more than a dozen injured, including U.S.…

Mar 4, 2011 8:00 PM CST

Two New Mug Shots of Accused Arizona Shooter Released Over Objections of His Lawyer, Government

Two new mug shots of Jared Lee Loughner, the man accused of the Arizona shootings that left six dead and injured 13 others in January, were released Tuesday. In a hearing on Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Larry Burns refused to seal Loughner’s photographs, prompting the U.S. Marshals Service to…

Feb 25, 2011 10:46 PM CST

Ethics Opinion Says Lawyers Can Assist Medical Marijuana Providers, But Adds Some Caveats

An Arizona ethics opinion says lawyers can help clients set up medical marijuana businesses, despite federal laws that bar possession and sale of pot. The opinion by a State Bar of Arizona professional conduct committee says lawyers can provide advice on the state’s medical marijuana law and help would-be dispensaries…

Feb 25, 2011 1:18 PM CST