Arizona Judge Blocks Law That Treats Fetuses as People The law granted embryos and fetuses the same rights as a person. Civil rights groups sought an injunction out of concern the law could criminalize people who provide or obtain abortions. Meg O'Connor Jul 12, 2022
Criminalized Abortions Loom Over Phoenix’s Biggest Prosecutor Election Maricopa County elects a new top prosecutor this year. In the meantime, state law could let the county’s conservative county attorney prosecute abortions if Roe falls. Meg O'Connor May 27, 2022
Arizona Man Faces Decades In Prison After Not Returning a Rental Car on Time Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old Black man, has struggled with substance use for decades. Now, prosecutors are leveraging his record against him—and forbidding references to racial justice, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Stepter’s potential sentence, or his health problems at his trial. Meg O'Connor Mar 25, 2021
They Took Umbrellas to a Black Lives Matter Protest. The D.A. Hit Them with Gang Charges Police and prosecutors routinely treat white domestic terrorists with kid gloves, but use the full force of the law against protesters calling for an end to police violence against Black people. Meg O'Connor Jan 14, 2021
In a Blow to the Progressive Prosecutor Movement, Allister Adel Wins the Maricopa County Attorney Race Voters decided to keep Adel in charge of the third-largest prosecuting agency in the country. She is recovering from emergency surgery for bleeding in her brain. Meg O'Connor Nov 11, 2020
As Arizona Politics Shift, Martín Quezada Hopes This Term Is His Most Significant Quezada has supported progressive policies since starting out in the state legislature in 2012. He’s now running for his final term, which could be his most important, given the state’s changing power dynamics. Meg O'Connor Oct 27, 2020
If Arizona Legalizes Weed, Top Prosecutors Would Be Key To Clearing Past Convictions One candidate for Maricopa County attorney says she’ll make clearing past marijuana convictions ‘universal and automatic’ if elected. The other has not said she would do anything to support expunging criminal records. Meg O'Connor Oct 21, 2020
Democrats Could Break the Republican Trifecta in Arizona The party needs to win two state House seats and three state Senate seats in next month’s election to flip the chambers. Here are the candidates running in hotly contested races. Meg O'Connor Oct 13, 2020
Maricopa County’s Top Prosecutor Releases Misleading Attack Ad Allister Adel paints herself as a reformer, but her record shows otherwise. Meg O'Connor Oct 05, 2020
Prison Labor Is on the Frontlines of the COVID-19 Pandemic States like California, New York, and Arizona have relied on prisoners to continue working, with little pay and in precarious conditions, during the coronavirus pandemic. Eliyahu Kamisher
Arizona Man Faces 8 Years in Prison For Not Returning Rental Car on Time Brian Stepter, a 61-year-old with chronic respiratory problems, has struggled with substance use for decades. Police and prosecutors sought the harshest sentence possible after he failed to return the car. Meg O'Connor Sep 16, 2020
In Arizona, a County Attorney Candidate’s Past Seems To Contradict Her Pro-Reform Stance Julie Gunnigle, who is running in Maricopa County, says she supports alternatives to incarceration. But a decade ago in Illinois, she prosecuted a woman for recording phone calls and helped put her in jail for 18 months. Meg O'Connor Aug 03, 2020
51 Years In Prison For A Car Crash Prosecutors wanted to make an example of Justin Dixon, who has been in an Arizona prison for 14 years, with 37 ahead of him. Now, as COVID-19 spreads in the facility where he’s being held, his family is desperate for him to be released. Meg O'Connor Jun 25, 2020
How the Phoenix Police Department Spends Its $745 Million Budget The city wants to give the force an additional $24 million. But the department is still failing to solve crimes, and officers have shot 212 people between 2011 and 2018, killing about half. Meg O'Connor Jun 17, 2020
On The Day Of George Floyd’s Death, An Arizona State Trooper Killed A Man In Phoenix Dion Johnson’s family wants answers about the last moments of his life. Meg O'Connor Jun 05, 2020
She Turned Her Life Around After A String Of DUIs. Now She Might Be Sent Back To Prison Amid A Coronavirus Outbreak The Maricopa County Attorney's Office waited four years to charge Danielle Sutherland for one of the DUIs. After serving time for the others, she received treatment for her substance use issues and pursued a degree. Meg O'Connor May 29, 2020
Two of His Sons Are Incarcerated During the Pandemic. A Third Is Fighting to Get Them Out. Both incarcerated brothers are at an increased risk of complications from COVID-19—and one has tested positive. Chris Gelardi May 27, 2020
COVID-19 Infections and Deaths Among Natives Are Underreported. It’s Time For State Health Departments To Step Up. While 80 percent of state health departments are recording race as part of their COVID-19 statistics, around half are not including Natives and are simply labeling them as “other.” Ruth Hopkins May 26, 2020
Cleaning Supplies Are So Scarce At This Arizona Prison, Detainees Are Using Shampoo And Menstrual Pads, Lawsuit Says The plaintiffs want an independent expert to assess whether the facility has implemented social distancing measures, testing procedures, and hygiene practices adequate enough to reasonably protect detainees from contracting COVID-19 while in custody. Meg O'Connor May 12, 2020
Arizona’s Incarcerated Firefighters Push for Legislation That Recognizes Their Labor By Reducing Their Sentences Unlike other states, Arizona offers minimal early release credits for the prisoners it sends to fight its wildfires. Hannah Critchfield Jan 21, 2020
Arizona Prosecutor Commissions Report That Argues Against Leniency For Teens Who Commit Crimes Report attempts to discredit decades of research on the adolescent mind. Kira Lerner Nov 01, 2019
In One Arizona County, Pay For Your Ankle Monitor Or Go To Jail A lawsuit is challenging Mohave County’s practice of charging certain people for mandatory GPS monitoring before trial. Kira Lerner Aug 23, 2019
Arizona Man Faces Deportation After Filing Lawsuit Against Coconino County Sheriff Jose Montelongo-Morales challenged the jail’s immigration detainer policy. He and some of his family members were arrested months later. Lauren Gill Jun 18, 2019
The Appeal Podcast: Criminal Justice Reform Hits Roadblock in Arizona With Caroline Isaacs of the American Friends Service Committee Adam H. Johnson May 30, 2019
Scandal-Plagued Arizona Prosecutor Won’t Release Records, Lawsuit Alleges The ACLU of Arizona is suing Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery’s office over its alleged lack of transparency. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 22, 2019
Overdose In An Arizona Prison? Get Ready To Pay Up. ‘Worst policy imaginable’ punishes, rather than treats, patients who earn less than a dollar an hour, advocates say. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg May 03, 2019
Good Samaritans Punished for Offering Lifesaving Help to Migrants In recent years, the number of people federally charged with smuggling and harboring has jumped nearly a third. Debbie Nathan Apr 17, 2019
Prisons Across the U.S. Are Quietly Building Databases of Incarcerated People’s Voice Prints The technology also allows authorities to mine call databases and cross-reference the voices of individuals prisoners have spoken with. George Joseph, Debbie Nathan Jan 30, 2019
Program Meant To Fight Terrorism and Narcotrafficking Is Being Used to Target The Undocumented Community Opposition to Operation Stonegarden, however, is spreading; one Arizona county just rejected over $1 million of its funds. Debbie Nathan Oct 22, 2018
Meet the D.A. Who Has Been Accused of Sexual Misconduct That Affected a Murder Trial In the era of #MeToo, can we hold law enforcement officials accountable? Josie Duffy Rice May 31, 2018
Two States Just Made It Easier to Take Babies Away From Mothers Who Use Drugs During Pregnancy Lisa Sangoi May 17, 2018
Arizona prosecutor violated federal law by not personally reviewing wiretap warrants Larry Hannan Aug 18, 2017
