Ex-Phoenix Cop’s Misconduct Hangs Over Jacob Harris Case
Jacob Harris’s father is heading to appeals court on Wednesday. Federal judges will decide the fate of his wrongful death suit against the city of Phoenix.
Meg O'Connor Sep 13, 2023
Phoenix Is Clearing Its Largest Homeless Encampment. The ACLU Says It’s Breaking the Law.
As Phoenix begins to displace around 700 people from an encampment near downtown, the ACLU of Arizona is asking a judge to find the city in contempt of a court order prohibiting it from violating the rights of the unhoused.
Meg O'Connor May 18, 2023
Police Killed His Son. Prosecutors Charged The Teen’s Friends with His Murder.
It’s been four years since a Phoenix police officer killed Jacob Harris. Records obtained by The Appeal show officials have made inconsistent or false statements about the night police killed him. As Harris’s friends grow up behind bars, his father won’t stop until he gets justice for his son.
Meg O'Connor Mar 14, 2023
Midterm Elections Deliver Some Good News for Criminal Legal Reform
Midterm election results show the bad-faith “crime wave” narrative failed to con a critical mass of voters, who instead want a less draconian police state.
Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Nick Wing, Meg O'Connor Nov 09, 2022
Stop Letting Politicians Trick You About Abortion
The stakes for getting reporting on abortion right are very high, but it costs nothing to call out politicians on their BS.
Meg O'Connor Aug 24, 2022
Without Roe, Prosecutors Will Be The Abortion Police
Prosecutors across the country could soon be tasked with enforcing abortion laws that require people to reproduce against their will.
Meg O'Connor Jun 01, 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
B.S., 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, B.S.’s potential sentence, or his health problems at his trial.
Meg O'Connor Mar 25, 2021
How One Race Could Change Police Accountability in Arizona
Incumbent Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel is backed by police unions and has declined to charge officers in high-profile killings. Challenger Julie Gunnigle says she wants to create an independent unit to review police use-of-force cases.
Meg O'Connor Oct 23, 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
Abortion Could Be Criminalized in Arizona if Roe v. Wade Gets Overturned
The state’s pre-Roe abortion ban includes mandatory prison time for people who provide or obtain abortions. Candidates for top prosecutor in Maricopa County differ on whether they would prosecute such cases.
Meg O'Connor Oct 15, 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
Arizona Man Faces 8 Years in Prison For Not Returning Rental Car on Time
B.S., 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
Maricopa County Moved Homeless People to Sweltering Parking Lots in Response to COVID-19
Hundreds were forced from an encampment to fenced-in, asphalt parking lots with no shade in Phoenix’s triple-digit summer heat. At least three people have died.
Meg O'Connor Jul 24, 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
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
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
Video Hearings: The Choice ‘Between Efficiency and Rights’
Many jurisdictions across the country use video instead of holding bail hearings in person, a practice that often leads to dire consequences.
Bryce Covert Jun 05, 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
Arizona prosecutor violated federal law by not personally reviewing wiretap warrants
A federal appellate court has ruled that the office of Maricopa County District Attorney Bill Montgomery violated the law with their wiretapping practices. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit found that Montgomery didn’t personally review and sign off on surveillance warrants, which is required by federal law. Montgomery instead relied on a less […]
Larry Hannan Aug 18, 2017