Arizona

Breath Tests Axed in 49 Ariz. DUI Cases; Could Be Statewide Issue

A municipal judge in Tucson, Ariz., has excluded breath tests as evidence in 49 driving under the influence cases because the company that made the machine that conducted the alcohol-content examinations didn’t disclose the source code that controls its inner workings to the defense. The same issue could also potentially…

May 20, 2008 6:14 PM CDT

Texas Ranch Raid Sparks Senate Leader’s Call for Federal Task Force

Sparks flew in Arizona, Nevada and Utah last week after the Senate majority leader criticized prosecutors in those states for not being as aggressive as Texas authorities in pursuing claimed child abuse among a religious sect that reportedly advocates polygamy and “spiritual” marriages of underage teenage girls to much older…

May 5, 2008 11:04 PM CDT

Ariz. Justice Project Expands, Moves to Law School

The Arizona Justice Project, which for the last 10 years has worked on a shoestring to exonerate the wrongfully convicted, is getting a makeover and a new home thanks to a $150,000 grant from the state bar’s foundation. With the grant money, the Justice Project will move from the firm…

Apr 23, 2008 5:55 PM CDT

Online Posting of Accused Shoplifter Photos Stirs Debate

Civil liberties watchdogs are sounding alarms over a new law enforcement tactic in Arizona in which photographs of shoplifting suspects are posted online – even before a conviction. Avondale police are the latest to post, then publicize the mug shots of suspects online, the Arizona Republic reports. The idea is…

Apr 8, 2008 4:53 PM CDT

Ariz. Judge Faces Hearing on Financial Disclosure Charges

A rare hearing before the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct is planned for an Arizona justice of the peace accused of failing to disclose all the real estate he owned, among other ethics charges. A commission investigative panel filed charges last month against Judge Carlos A. Mendoza. It contends that…

Mar 10, 2008 10:29 PM CDT

Supreme Court Accepts Car Search Case Seeking ‘Bright-Line’ Rule

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether a bright-line rule allows police to search the passenger compartment of a car without a warrant simply because they arrested a recent occupant. The Arizona Supreme Court had ruled (PDF) that a search was not justified when the scene was secure…

Feb 25, 2008 3:53 PM CST

Some States Seek to Limit Judicial Power to Regulate Lawyers

Legislators in a handful of states are trying to limit the traditional power of their states’ supreme courts to regulate the legal profession. In South Carolina, for instance, a Republican legislator and physician, Dr. Kristopher “Kris” Crawford, is proposing legislation that would eliminate the state supreme court’s power to regulate…

Feb 5, 2008 5:02 PM CST

Heartless Jailhouse Call Rings Up Maximum Prison Term

A twice-convicted drunken driver got the maximum prison term for her latest offense—a little over 10 years—after a jailhouse phone call in which she laughed about driving into and killing a bicyclist while intoxicated was played at her sentencing hearing in Arizona. Characterizing the conversation as “breathtaking in its inhumanity,”…

Jan 25, 2008 6:03 PM CST

Beauty Queen Law Student Suspended After Kidnapping Charge

A former pinup girl-turned-law student who has been accused of kidnapping an ex-boyfriend and holding him captive is now a former law student, at least for the moment. Kumari Fulbright, 25, has been temporarily suspended by the University of Arizona, where she is a second-year student at the James E.…

Jan 9, 2008 5:22 PM CST

Beauty Queen-Turned-Law Student Indicted on Kidnapping Charges

A pinup girl-turned-law student has been indicted on charges she kidnapped and tortured her ex-boyfriend last month. Kumari Fulbright, a reported clerk to U.S. District Judge Raner Collins in Arizona, is accused with three others of tying up the man with cable and duct tape, then holding him captive in…

Jan 2, 2008 11:24 PM CST

2L Helps Win $185M Verdict

A paralegal who is a second-year law student at the Phoenix School of Law has helped his law firm obtain a $185 million verdict for patent infringement. James Griffith is a paralegal at Polese, Pietzsch, Williams & Nolan, which recently obtained the big verdict on behalf of a client that…

Dec 20, 2007 7:10 PM CST

Judge Appears Unlikely to Block Law Penalizing Hiring of Illegal Immigrants

A federal judge appears unwilling to block a new Arizona law cracking down on employers that hire illegal immigrants. U.S. District Judge Neil Wake of Phoenix said at a hearing yesterday that he was not inclined to issue an injunction to prevent the law from going into effect on Jan.…

Dec 19, 2007 2:11 PM CST

County Attorney Gets Flack for Self-Promotion

The county attorney in Phoenix has spent more than $2.5 million in public money on public service announcements since taking office three years ago. That may not raise eyebrows, except that Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas is in almost every ad, the East Valley Tribune reports. The presence of Thomas…

Dec 17, 2007 9:33 PM CST

Arizona’s Crackdown on Hiring Illegal Immigrants Faces Court Test

A federal judge on Tuesday will consider whether to block an Arizona law that threatens to pull the business licenses of companies that knowingly hire illegal immigrants. The law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, is one of the toughest measures enacted by states to battle illegal immigration, the New…

Dec 14, 2007 3:57 PM CST

Mike Tyson Gets 1-Day DUI Sentence

Former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson will serve only one day in jail after his guilty plea in September to drug possession and driving under the influence. The 41-year-old Tyson was sentenced today to 10 days, but will only have to serve one day. He will also be required to perform…

Nov 19, 2007 5:30 PM CST