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
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
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
Allister Adel paints herself as a reformer, but her record shows otherwise.
Meg O'Connor Oct 05, 2020
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
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
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
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
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
Report attempts to discredit decades of research on the adolescent mind.
Kira Lerner Nov 01, 2019
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
With Caroline Isaacs of the American Friends Service Committee
Adam H. Johnson May 30, 2019
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