History of Attempts to Legalize Marijuana for Medical Use in Arizona Medical marijuana has had a rather tortured history in Arizona. When Proposition 203 was finally passed by the voters in 2010, it was actually the fourth time that the issue was on the ballot. Here...
Blog
Road Rage Leads to Aggravated Assault Charge
According to Phoenix police, a woman has admitted that she intentionally rammed her car into a vehicle she says cut her off. The report did not indicate that anyone was injured in the collision. Nevertheless, the woman has been charged with aggravated assault, a...
“Super Extreme DUI” Leads to Jail Time for Michael Floyd
In Arizona, not all drunk driving charges are the same. Take the case of former Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Michael Floyd. He was arrested in December for DUI after he fell asleep behind the wheel of his car. It wasn’t his first DUI charge. Back in 2011, while...
Free Speech Survives in Arizona . . . for now!
“Organize a Protest, Lose your Home” Bill May be Dead There are some Republicans in the Arizona legislature who are . . . well . . . let’s just say they are not students of the United States Constitution. In an effort to drive out and punish dissenters – that’s anyone...
“No Bail” for Sex Crimes Struck Down by AZ Supreme Court
The Arizona Supreme Court has declared certain provision of the state constitution invalid. Those provisions were inserted back in 2002, when voters in Arizona approved an amendment changing the circumstances in which a criminal defendant may be released on bail. The...
Arizona DUI News – Senate Bill 1054
Implied Consent The law in many states provides that under certain circumstances, a driver is deemed to have consented to have a blood, breath or urine test to determine the presence of alcohol or drugs in the driver’s system. It’s called “implied consent.” It is...
Homicidal Sleepwalking Defense
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the killing of Yarmila Falater by her husband, Scott Falater. Yarmila was stabbed 44 times, and then drowned in the couple’s backyard swimming pool in a Phoenix suburb. Scott, a devout Mormon, said he had a history of...
Felony Murder in Arizona – Time for a Change
Murder conjures up bad, bad acts. But felony murder – sounds even worse, doesn’t it? Well, words can be deceiving, and this is a case where they sound a lot worse than they are in most cases. Killing another human being is certainly one of the worst things a person...
Yahoo! Data Breach and Identity Theft
The theft of data by hackers has become commonplace. And the magnitude of some of these security breaches is astounding. The most recent example came to light last week, when Yahoo announced that back in 2013, hackers stole data of more than one billion users. The...
Mental Health Court in Arizona
You have no doubt heard about drug courts. They are designed to deal effectively with offenders who, because of their addiction, may benefit from alternatives to the types of sentences traditionally available in the criminal justice system. Instead of being jailed for...
Mandatory Life Sentences for Juveniles
We’re told that the juvenile justice system is designed not to punish youthful offenders, but rather to rehabilitate them. A lofty goal to be sure, but does that principle reflect reality? Back in 1963, a 17-year old named Montgomery was accused of killing a deputy...
Arizona Hate Crime Law
A recent news article reported that three people had been arrested on charges of robbing patrons in the parking lots of two bars in Phoenix. In each case, there were no injuries. The suspects allegedly approached the people and robbed them at gunpoint. All three (two...
Sofie’s Story
When I was born, my parents had no idea I was deaf. It was a long time before they could get a diagnosis, and my mother recounts that it was actually very difficult for the doctors to find out why I wasn’t responding to them. It was only until one of them referred me...
Arpaio is out!
After 24 years in office as the Sheriff of Maricopa County, “America’s toughest sheriff” has lost his bid this week for an unprecedented seventh term. The 84-year old Republican was ousted by Democrat Paul Penzone, a retired Phoenix cop, who had criticized Arpaio for...
Katherine’s Story
I remember vividly the day I first tried on my hearing aids – my entire world changed forever. I entered kindergarten with my newfound hearing and immediately fell even more in love with learning. However, despite the help the hearing aids offered, I often found...