Arizona

Don’t Feed the Inmates: Arrested Lawyer Learns Lesson the Hard Way

Updated: An Arizona lawyer may have a sour taste in his mouth after being arrested for passing sweets to a client in court. Lawyer Damon Rossi of Prescott is accused of giving his shackled client a piece of candy during a court hearing, even though two detention officials told him…

Dec 22, 2008 6:36 PM CST

Censure Recommended for Lawyer Defending Client as ‘Mild-Mannered’

A hearing officer is recommending censure and a year of probation for a Tucson defense lawyer who told jurors her client was “mild-mannered” and nonviolent despite evidence to the contrary. Lawyer Bobbi Berry had told jurors in 2007 that her client, on trial for first-degree murder in a drive-by shooting,…

Dec 22, 2008 5:06 PM CST

No Sanction for Lawyer Who Wore F-Word T-Shirt to Cop Station

An Arizona lawyer who wore a T-shirt to a police station sporting the slogan, “Let the f—ing begin,” won’t face disciplinary charges. The state supreme court’s disciplinary commission voted 5-4 to dismiss the charges against lawyer Jeffrey Mehrens, adopting a hearing officer’s report that concluded the T-shirt and other alleged…

Dec 10, 2008 6:53 PM CST

Confession by 8-Year-Old Unlikely to be Admitted, Experts Say

A taped confession by an 8-year-old Arizona boy accused of shooting his father and another man is unlikely to be admitted in court. Legal experts told the New York Times the confession will probably not be admissible because the boy was never warned of his right to silence and a…

Nov 24, 2008 5:30 PM CST

In Police Video, 8-Year-Old Boy Changes Story, Says He May Have Shot Dad

In a police video released to the media, an 8-year-old boy accused of shooting his father and another man gives shifting accounts of what happened, finally telling police he may have shot the men. At first the boy denies any role in the killings, but his story changes with pressure,…

Nov 19, 2008 12:59 PM CST

Threatened With Loss of Class Notes, Ariz. Law Student Overpowers Intruder

Surprised to find an intruder with a softball bat demanding his wallet when he awakened one night earlier this month at his Tempe, Ariz., apartment, 23-year-old Alex Botsios reportedly did his best to find his money. But when the intruder tried to take the laptop computer containing all of Botsios’…

Nov 13, 2008 11:49 PM CST

Ariz. Chief Justice Accused of Banning Non-PC Words

Updated: The group Judicial Watch has accused the chief justice of Arizona’s Supreme Court of imposing an implied ban on the term “illegal alien” and 17 other words or phrases in court opinions. The conservative group says Chief Justice Ruth McGregor effectively banned the words by distributing a letter from…

Nov 12, 2008 2:32 PM CST

Prosecutors Say 8-Year-Old Boy Methodically Shot Father, Friend

Prosecutors said yesterday that the 8-year-old boy accused of murdering his father and the father’s friend methodically reloaded a .22-caliber rifle as he committed the crime, pumping at least four rounds of bullets into each victim. Police Chief Roy Melnick of St. Johns, Ariz., originally suspected the boy had been…

Nov 11, 2008 12:30 PM CST

8-Year-Old Boy Charged with Murder; Prosecutors May Seek to Try Him as Adult

An 8-year-old Arizona boy appears in court today after being charged with two counts of premeditated murder in the shooting deaths of his father and a co-worker. St. Johns police say the boy admitted killing his father, Vincent Romero, and a co-worker who lived with them, but the boy’s lawyers…

Nov 10, 2008 2:25 PM CST

Public Outrage Boosts Sentencing in Child Porn Cases

Federal judges around the country are speaking out against what they view as harsh mandatory and recommended sentences for child pornography crimes, spurred in recent years by Congress and public outrage at such offenses, the Wall Street Journal reports. The average federal prison sentence for individuals who possess, receive or…

Oct 23, 2008 6:53 PM CDT

33 Yrs of Rehnquist Papers Donated to Stanford

Papers covering the 33 years that the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist spent on the U.S. Supreme Court, including correspondence with fellow justices, have been donated to his alma mater. Rehnquist’s family released the papers to the Hoover Institution Archives at Stanford University the San Francisco Chronicle reports. In addition…

Oct 23, 2008 3:50 PM CDT

Ariz. Court Nixes $2.1M Sanctions Against Lawyer, Wife

An Arizona appeals court has overturned a lower court’s order that a Tuscon attorney and his wife turn $2.1 million over to the account of one of the attorney’s clients. Last May, the Pima County Public Fiduciary accused lawyer Jack Rappeport, 84, of diverting funds for personal use from a…

Oct 21, 2008 8:15 PM CDT

Snell & Wilmer Opens Office in Mexico

An Arizona-based law firm has opened its first foreign office in Mexico, becoming the first major United States firm to do so in the Baja California Sur state. Snell & Wilmer’s new office in San Jose del Cabo will focus on helping U.S. companies do business in Mexico, and and…

Oct 16, 2008 4:05 PM CDT

Despite S&L Debacle Decades Ago, Most Hard-Hit States Didn’t Amp Up Regulation

Despite the savings and loan meltdown that hit the country some 20 years ago, many states at the center of that maelstrom apparently didn’t learn the obvious lesson: Regulation is needed to keep dubious mortgage lending practices in check. Now, many of the same states that suffered the most from…

Oct 8, 2008 5:44 PM CDT

Kidnappings for Ransom, Both Real and Fake, Are Increasing

In a spillover of the criminal violence that is an increasing problem in Mexico, kidnappings for ransom—both real and “virtual”—are on the rise in Arizona. Often targeting immigrant families, those who pretend to be holding a beloved relative captive when in fact they are not apparently are purchasing names of…

Sep 24, 2008 6:30 PM CDT