A new law was recently passed in Arizona. HB 2319 prohibits anyone, in most instances, from making a video recording within eight feet of “police activity.” While most areas of the country appear to be concentrating on transparency in police operations, Arizona seeks...
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New Anti-Hazing Law in Arizona
Hazing is not new. It exists in many colleges, high schools, and other educational facilities. It includes abuse as part of “pre-initiation activities” for clubs, fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, social groups, etc. And until now, Arizona was one of only six...
The Surge in Fentanyl Overdose Deaths
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. There are a number of different analogs of the drug, but a typical dose of fentanyl is perhaps 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times as potent as morphine. While fentanyl has been used to bolster the effect of illegal drugs since...
Expungement in Arizona? Not Quite!
For those of you who don’t know, expungement is the process in which a conviction, an arrest or the filing of a criminal charge is erased from the record. Effectively, it would, for most purposes, be as if the conviction, arrest or charge never happened. Arizona does...
Self-Defense in Arizona
Self-defense has been a hot topic over the years. And there is a fair amount of confusion over what self-defense is, when it can be raised by a criminal defendant, and the mechanics of how the issue is decided in a criminal case. What is Self-Defense? Self-defense is...
FBI Crime Reporting System Missing 40% of U.S. Data
The FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program is intended to generate reliable statistics for the use of law enforcement agencies across the country. It is also available to the media, the public, and to researchers who seek to analyze and draw conclusions from the data....
Civil Asset Forfeiture in the News Again
We have written a couple of articles in the last year about civil asset forfeiture. It is a procedure under which the government seizes property allegedly used in connection with criminal activity. Until a year ago, forfeiture in Arizona was utilized where the police...
Defense Lawyers Can Challenge Law Limiting Contact with Crime Victims
We all agree that crime victims need to be protected against harassment and other wrongful acts. On the other hand, the “protection” provided in Arizona goes far beyond what may be necessary to shield crime victims from harassment. In fact, the law expressly prohibits...
Assault vs. Aggravated Assault – What’s the Difference?
When people think about the crime of assault, many different things may come to mind. It could be simple: an argument that results in a shoving match, a fist fight, or perhaps just putting another person in fear of physical injury. In more serious cases, there could...
Domestic Violence – The Rules Are Changing in Some States
When we think about domestic violence, most people envision physical violence of one sort or another. Indeed, in Arizona, the definition of “domestic violence” includes acts that are themselves crimes, coupled with a relationship such as marriage, parent/child,...
Criminal Cases and Statutes of Limitation
Most people have heard of statutes of limitation. For example, in most cases in Arizona you have two years after an accident to file a personal injury lawsuit for damages. But how many people know that these types of statutes – which place limits on how long a case...
Bombs Found on ASU Campus
A recent report claims that bombs have been found at the Tempe campus of Arizona State University. The bombs were allegedly discovered in one of the school’s residence halls. According to the police, the discovery came after the publication of a social media post...
Insanity Defense or Incompetence to Stand Trial
A recent article reported that a man was raising an insanity defense in a sexual assault and murder case. The man is accused of sexually assaulting two women and then stabbing them fatally almost 30 years ago, in separate incidents. He has been in custody for six...
Threatening or Aggravated Assault?
In a recent news article, Phoenix police are quoted as saying they are looking for a man who allegedly attempted to steal a cell phone from a Target store. They also claim that after the attempted theft, the suspect pulled out a knife and threatened an employee of the...
Hindering Prosecution in Arizona
What happens if you conceal evidence of a crime committed by another person? In Arizona, the offense is called “hindering prosecution.” A.R.S. 13-2510. But what does that actually mean? A recent news report centered on the death of a Phoenix woman earlier this year....