Subject: Arizona Court of Appeals

• ACES AND EIGHTS: Appeals court deals Joe Arpaio a losing hand in New Times lawsuit over public docs.

  February 6, 2008

• How do you spell Wal-Mart? Try H-y-p-o-c-r-i-s-y

  June 18, 2008

• $5 million (and counting) to jail "human cargo" of smugglers under AZ law

  July 17, 2008

• Arizona Supreme Court Tells Sheriff Joe to Take a Hike; New Times Victory Upheld

  September 24, 2008

• JUSTIFIABLE HOMICIDESELDON-INVOKED LAW LEADS TO OVERTURNING OF MURDER CONVICTION

  September 15, 1993

• RESERVATION NOT ACCEPED

  THE COURT RETURNED LALITA ALTAHA TO HER NATURAL MOTHER, AND A LIFE OF UNHAPPINESS AT FORT APACHE

  October 27, 1993

• AN OBSCENE LOOPHOLE DOUGLAS GATES WENT TO PRISON FOR SECRETLY VIDEOTAPING NAKED CHILDREN NOW, AN APPEALS COURT SAYS HE SHOULD GO FREE

  December 1, 1994

• OCCUPATIONAL HAZARD

  MAN INJURED WHILE PLAYING HACKY SACK WINS WORKERS' COMPENSATION BENEFITS

  March 2, 1995

• Letters

  February 29, 1996

• Copping an Attitude

  Public complaints about racism have created firestorms of recrimination at the Glendale police department. Is psychological counseling a remedy for the conflict -- or retaliation against officers who spoke out?

  July 18, 1996

• Poison Penance

  Man whose tainted hot dogs sickened cat loses bid to be tried by jury for "moral turpitude"

  October 10, 1996

• A Case to Be Made

  May 29, 1997

• Case Time Line

  August 13, 1998

• Case Time Line

  August 20, 1998

• That Would Be You, Mr. Chief Justice

  Zlaket casts misguided stones in controversial rape case

  March 18, 1999

• The Big Sleep

  Court of Appeals upholds conviction of 'Sleepwalking Murderer'

  February 14, 2002

• Arizona Appeals Court Upholds Conspiracy Conviction for Illegal Immigrant

  November 10, 2008

• When Can Cops Pat You Down? State Takes Case to U.S. Supreme Court Today

  The case of an Arizona police officer who found a gun after she patted down the passenger of vehicle who had committed no crime goes before the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday. The state, as represented by the Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard, will argue that such pat-downs -- and using evidence found during the pat-down to bust someone -- are perfectly legal. A divided Arizona Court of Appeals decision has already deemed the search wasn't constitutional in thi

  December 8, 2008

• Court Ruling on Havasupai Blood Case Good News for Tiny Tribe

  A state appellate court ruling has given new life to a lawsuit filed by the tiny Havasupai nation over blood samples that the tribe was told would be used for the study of tribal diabetes but instead were used for other research. Back in 2004, we wrote "Indian Givers," a chilling yarn about how genetic researchers at Arizona State University had misled many members of the Havasupai, who live on the floor of the western Grand Canyon (see photo), into providing blood

  December 15, 2008

• CityNorth Development Threatened After Appeals Court Blasts City's Tax Giveaway

  The Arizona Court of Appeals today struck down Phoenix's giveaway of $97 million in sales tax that was promised to a developer in exchange for building the Kierland-Commons-like CityNorth center. A few months ago, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled in favor of Phoenix's be-kind-to-developers deal after it was contested in a lawsuit filed by the conservative Goldwater Institute.

  December 23, 2008

• What are Metadata? (And Why You Should Care When Government Won't Let You See Them)

  We've never even tried to obtain metadata from a government agency, and now the Arizona Court of Appeals tells us we can't have them.   What the hell are megadata, anyway? (And isn't it annoying they must used in plural form?)   Well, it turns out that every keystroke you make in a word processing program generates extra data that are stored in your computer. As you work on different programs, the computer produces hidden code with meaningful informa

  January 20, 2009

• Appellate Court Rules Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio -- Says Records Request Has "No Discernable Public Benefit"

  The Arizona Court of Appeals today smacked down Sheriff Joe Arpaio, ruling that administrators at the Maricopa County Superior Court do not have to turn over thousands of e-mails, as Arpaio had demanded.In a unanimous decision released this morning, the three-judge paneled found that Superior Court Adminstrator Marcus Reinkensmeyer acted correctly when he turned down two public records requests from Arpaio's then-spokesman, Paul Chagolla."The Sheriff requested thousands of random, unide

  June 2, 2009

• Arizona Court of Appeals Mercifully Rules Against a State Agency That Told a Poor Woman She Didn't Need Dentures, That She Could Just Exist on a Liquid Diet

  Some years ago, Bridget Sharpe became eligible for AHCCCS, the state's health-care program for the needy. She enrolled with the program's Mercy Care Plan to receive medical services.  What remained of Sharpe's teeth were in a state of "rampant decay," according to an Arizona Court of Appeals decision this month. (Those perfect choppers depicted to the left are decidely not Ms. Sharpe's) The woman's doctors and her dentist asked Mercy Care to approve payment for

  February 10, 2009

• Arpaio's Web Site Keeps Valley Informed -- About E.J. Montini Columns

    Standoffs, suspected kidnappers, burning bodies, high-speed chases, animal abusers -- the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office sure has a lot going on. But you'll see none of those cases on Sheriff Joe Arpaio's taxpayer-funded Web site. You can, however, read a column by Arizona Republic writer E.J. Montini. As of today, all of the above-mentioned criminal cases don't rate a mention on Sheriff Joe Arpaio's portal to the public. Instead, Arpaio's control freaks fed those news it

  April 2, 2009

• Supreme Court to Hear Phoenix Appeal in CityNorth Case

  Sarah FenskeThe $97 million CityNorth tax giveaway supposedly paid for this parking garage.This just in: The Arizona Supreme Court will revisit the appellate decision that struck down the city of Phoenix's $97 million subsidy of the CityNorth development.Today's decision to grant review is a victory for the city of Phoenix, which had fought for the right to give the project's developers one-half of all sales tax generated at the northeast Phoenix shopping center -- and the Thomas J. Klutznick Co

  June 1, 2009

• Feedback from the Issue of Thursday, February 5, 2009

  February 5, 2009

• A legal battle with Wal-Mart over injury benefits broke this elderly store greeter’s spirit

  June 5, 2008

• This Week's Day-by-Day Picks

  February 17, 2005

• Guilt Trip

  Eftenoff's murder sentence upheld

  February 13, 2003

• Insufficient Notice

  Drastic cuts show the state's Clemency Board no mercy

  July 11, 2002

• Appealing Outcome

  Inmate finally wins his own freedom after six-year legal fight

  February 14, 2002

• Spiked

  The legal community is abuzz about who will be Arizona's next Supreme Court justice.

  January 31, 2002

• Highway to Hell

  A head-on collision leads an impoverished young widow into a legalistic cul-de-sac. She'll be circling the courts for years.

  May 17, 2001

• Skirting the Issue

  Tempe activist terminates mayoral bid

  April 12, 2001

• Snake Killer

  They call it "Snake Farm." Lawyers like Cal Thur battle State Farm to protect consumers from their own insurance company. Moral of the story: Don't have an accident.

  November 16, 2000

• Kay's Okay

  "Committing the Truth" follow-up

  August 10, 2000

• REVERSAL OF MISFORTUNE

  JAMES MCPHEETERS BEAT A MOLESTATION RAP, BUT WAS SENTENCED TO 561 YEARS FOR POSSESSING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY. AN APPELLATE COURT SAYS HE DESERVES A NEW TRIAL.

  September 28, 1995

• THE RULE 11 REVOLVING DOOR

  A LOOPHOLE HAS ALLOWED THE MENTALLY INCOMPETENT TO COMMIT CRIME AFTER CRIME, WITHOUT BEING PUNISHED OR PLACED UNDER SUPERVISION

  July 13, 1995

• CityNorth: With Nordstrom Gone, Phoenix Fights for the Right to Bail Out Abu Dhabi

  May 14, 2009

• Scottsdale to CityNorth: Drop Dead!

  Scottsdale Mayor Jim LaneLast month, the Arizona League of Cities and Towns defended the city of Phoenix's $97 million CityNorth subsidy -- going so far as to file an amicus brief asking the Arizona Supreme Court to overturn the appellate decision that struck down the subsidy as unconstitutional.But last night, the city of Scottsdale made it clear that the League doesn't speak for all Arizona cities -- at Mayor Jim Lane's urging, the Scottsdale City Council voted to file a brief defen

  May 20, 2009

• Lawsuit Roundup: Bank Sues Goodyear for $15M Over Failed Ballpark Deal; Blind Students, ASU and Kindle; Ballplayer Ordered to Pay Child Support

  Image: www.goodyearaz.gov A trio of Valley stories this morning from Courthouse News Service: * The failed deal to build a fancier spring-training ballpark in Goodyear has blossomed into a lawsuit. The moneybag behind the deal, M&I Marshall Ilsley Bank, wants Goodyear to get the ballpark up and runnning, pay $10 million in reimbursements for construction costs and dole out another $5 million in tax breaks. The suit targets the city and the developing companies, MPK Enterprises, Swansea Properti

  June 29, 2009

• Hendershott Files New Records Request With Maricopa Superior Court That Looks Like Old Request

  Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott asked for e-mails of Superior Court staff in a fresh public-records request this month and was promptly told to bug off.A similar records request went nowhere earlier this year, spurring a lawsuit from the Sheriff's Office that was shot down in June by the Arizona Court of Appeals.Taxpayers -- get ready to pay the bill for Hendershott's appeal of this latest rejection. 

  July 15, 2009

• Harold Fish to be Freed From Prison After Three-Year Stay for Shooting; No New Trial to be Held

    A schoolteacher who fatally shot a man while hiking alone in Arizona's high country, becoming the poster boy for self-defense rights, won't face another trial and will soon be freed from prison. The Payson Roundup reported yesterday that Coconino County Attorney David Rozema decided it wouldn't be worth the time and hassle to retry Harold Fish (pictured). Two major developments recently broke in Fish's case: He won the right to a retrial in the Arizona Court of Appeals

  July 17, 2009

• Hot Links: Fires, Schoeneweis' Wife, and Bee Swarm Warnings

  In the latest four-alarm fire at a Valley structure (Richardson's restaurant was completely destroyed last week), firefighters are battling a huge blaze at a recycling plant in Glendale. The fire broke out at 8 p.m. last night at the Tempe-Inland Inc. facility, and crews are expected to battle the blaze most of today...Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Scott Schoeneweis has asked the courts to keep his wife's cause of death a secret. Schoeneweis' wife Gabrielle died suddenly on May 20 at their Founta

  July 20, 2009

• Brewer Picks Tucson Republican as New State Supreme Court Justice

  ​ Governor Jan Brewer put out a news release this afternoon announcing she's picked A. John Pelander III to fill a vacancy on the Arizona Supreme Court. The vacancy was created by the upcoming retirement of Chief Justice Ruth McGregor. As the Arizona Republic notes today, Pelander is a Republican, like Brewer. We can only assume he'll be impartial as a judge should be. See his background from the Arizona Court of Appeals below:

  July 28, 2009

• Goldwater Institute Attempts to Intervene in Coyotes' Bankruptcy

  ​Saying that bankruptcy court might be the only place to stop a deal that forces taxpayers into subsidizing the Phoenix Coyotes, the Goldwater Institute filed a motion this afternoon asking to the judge to allow them to intervene in the case.The motion is filed on behalf of eight Glendale taxpayers. This isn't the first interest the Goldwater Institute has shown in the Coyotes' bankruptcy, but it's the first clear indication that a subsidy from the city to the team might face a lawsuit from th

  July 31, 2009

• Arpaio and Hendershott Order Troops to Seize County Computers Containing Data That a Judge Ruled Arpaio Couldn't Have

  Chief Deputy Dave Hendershott​ The county feud took what is perhaps its ugliest turn yesterday as deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office seized county computers with data a court already ruled the sheriff couldn't access. County Manager David Smith called Sheriff Joe Arpaio a "thug" in an Arizona Republic article this morning about the raid, which took place Wednesday morning in a county building at 6th Avenue and Madison Street. The raid, as described by Republic reporter Mich

  August 13, 2009

• Bitter Lawsuits Between Arizona Prison Employees Costing Forest Many Trees

  We bumped into this wild 48-page Arizona Court of Appeals ruling, which was issued earlier this month. ​  It concerns a complicated and somewhat troubling set of back-and-forth lawsuits involving a former correctional officer and a criminal inspector. The inspector, whose name is Darrell Smith, investigated then-Officer Derrick Allen for alleged wrongdoing involving a female inmate. The allegations involved drugs and sex (no rock-and-roll alleged). The machinations of what

  August 27, 2009

• Sheriff Joe Arpaio Denied -- Again -- On Public Records Lawsuit

  Sheriff Joe gets a third strike in his attempt to read court email.​Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has lost yet another round in his near-endless quest to read the email of Superior Court judges.This decision, from the Arizona Court of Appeals, appears to mark the third such rejection. Arpaio's request was initially rejected by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Norman Davis, a decision Arpaio then appealed. The appellate court unanimously upheld Judge Davis' rejection in June.This

  October 16, 2009

• Metadata in Electronic Government Records Must be Released to Public, Arizona Supreme Court Rules

  Phoenix police Sergeant David Lake may get to find out whether his supervisors screwed him over, thanks to unanimous pro-public-records ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court. As we related back in January, Lake was halted twice by the court system in his quest to obtain the metadata embedded in a Microsoft Word document written by one of his supervisors. Metadata (yeah, it's an ugly, modern word that doesn't flow trippingly from the tongue). But every computer user ought to know about it

  October 29, 2009