Civil Trials

Randy Parraz Lawsuit Vs. Maricopa County Over '08 Arrest Can Proceed, Judge Rules

A lawsuit filed by activist Randy Parraz against Maricopa County following his 2008 arrest outside the Board of Supervisors Auditorium can move ahead, a federal judge ruled yesterday. Parraz was arrested on September 29, 2008, after he and members of his group, Maricopa Citizens for Safety and Acco ... More >>

Appeals Court Lets LD13 Foreigner Darin Mitchell Stay on Ballot

Legislative District 13 voters will be able to vote for state House candidate Darin Mitchell, despite the fact that a judge ruled he doesn't live in the district.Mitchell, a Republican, decided to appeal the county superior court ruling ordering him off the ballot, and he ended up winning that battl ... More >>

Joe Arpaio and MCSO Officially Sued by the Justice Department for Racial Discrimination

After a few rounds of threats, the Justice Department announced finally its lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Joe Arpaio this morning.The lawsuit addresses that "culture of bias" the Justice Department's been alleging since it released its findings in December, claimin ... More >>

Federal Lawsuit Against Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Former County Attorney Andrew Thomas to Proceed; No Immunity, Judge Rules

Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and former County Attorney Andrew Thomas were blasted in a court ruling on Monday, the day before Thomas found himself disbarred. As we pointed out earlier today, the 247-page opinion by the state Supreme Court panel that disbarred Thomas made it clear that Arpaio ... More >>

Judge Denies Senator Scott Bundgaard's Request to Halt Ethics Hearing Over Fight With Former Gal-Pal

​A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has denied state Senator Scott Bundgaard's request to put a stop to the State Senate ethics hearing over the fight the senator got into with his former gal-pal on the side of a Valley highway last year.See our coverage of the scuffle the senator had with for ... More >>

Joel Fox Case vs. Cox Communications Can Proceed, Judge Rules; "Zorro" E-Mails Shouldn't Have Been Released, Says Former Sheriff's Captain

Joel Fox ​Well, what do you know -- Joel Fox finally has achieved the equivalent of a base hit in a court case. A federal judge ruled recently that a lawsuit against Cox Communications by the disgraced former captain fired by Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio can proceed, for no ... More >>

Herman Cain: Latest Accuser, Sharon Bialek, Has "Long and Troubled History"

TMZHerman Cain's latest accuser, Sharon Bialek (right), and her headline-hungry attorney, Gloria Allred.​Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain remains on the attack when it comes to Sharon Bialek, the latest woman to accuse the former Godfather's Pizza CEO of sexual harassment.Cain plans t ... More >>

Feds Want Court to Dismiss Jan Brewer's Lawsuit Against Medical Marijuana

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's lawsuit against medical marijuana is on the ropes following today's motion to dismiss by the U.S. Justice Department.​ Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's lawsuit against the state's voter-approved medical marijuana law should be dismissed by the court, says the U.S. Ju ... More >>

Arizona "John Doe" Behind Latest Priest-Abuse Lawsuit Against Archdiocese of Philadelphia

​ A former altar boy who now lives in Arizona has filed a lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, claiming church leaders ignored complaints of a pervert priest. It's the fourth lawsuit against the archdiocese since a grand jury report came out last month that sparked t ... More >>

Lawsuit to Taco Bell: (DONG!) What? It's Not All Beef?!

​Last week, a California woman brought a false-advertising lawsuit against Taco Bell claiming that their products contain very little meat. And for those of us who have eaten their Cantina Tacos, this should resonate like the sun exploding. The class-action suit, which does not ask for money ... More >>

Lawsuits Against Jon Hulburd Raise Questions About His "Moral Compass"

Democratic Congressional candidate Jon Hulburd​Congressional candidate Jon Hulburd has based the majority of his campaign around attacking his opponent, Ben Quayle, over his ties to The Dirty, a raunchy, Scottsdale-based gossip site, to which Quayle admits contributing a few satirical posts.Hulbur ... More >>

Calvin Pace, New York Jets and Former AZ Cardinals Linebacker, Sued for $2.8 Million by Cardinals and NFL

Image: Nfl.com The Arizona Cardinals and NFL Management Council are demanding $2.8 million from lineback Calvin Pace.​The Arizona Cardinals and NFL Management Council filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against former Cards player Calvin Pace, demanding he pay $2.8 million for lost time during th ... More >>

EEOC Sues Four Points by Phoenix Sheraton North Hotel Over Alleged Mistreatment of Iraqi Employee

  Photo: www.deals.fourpoints.com The EEOC claims an Iraqi employee was subjected to months of racially charged harassment at this Phoenix hotel.​An Iraqi man was subjected to months of bigoted, insulting statements by his boss at a Valley Sheraton hotel, federal officials allege in a ... More >>

Cracking LifeLock: Even After a $12 Million Penalty for Deceptive Advertising, the Tempe Company Can't Be Honest About Its Identity-Theft-Protection Service

Governor Jan Brewer Enters Arizona in Obamacare Lawsuit

www.fireandreamitchell.com​Arizona Governor Jan Brewer announced last night that Arizona will be joining 14 other states in a lawsuit against the federal government over the federal healthcare mandate passed by Congress last month.Brewer's general counsel, Joseph Kanefield, will represent Ar ... More >>

Yelp Lawsuit Widens: From Washington to Chicago to L.A., Plaintiffs Charge Extortion

​Nine companies have joined the proposed class action lawsuit against Yelp, the San Francisco-based Internet giant, attorneys in Miami and California announced this morning. The new plaintiffs are located everywhere from Tujunga, California to Washington, D.C. They include businesses ranging from ... More >>

Racketeering Lawsuit by Thomas and Arpaio has "Fatal Defects," Say Lawyers Asking for Dismissal

The federal racketeering lawsuit filed last week by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio has "fatal defects" and should be dismissed, argue high-profile lawyers named in the suit. ​ The evidence-light racketeering lawsuit claims the Board of Supervisors, top judge ... More >>

Arpaio Brings His MCSO Circus to ASU's Cronkite School, and Deputies Admit Destroying Public Records

Andrew Thomas’ Battle Against Spanish-Language DUI Probation Has Cost Us a Half-Million Dollars. But Who's Counting?

Sweat Lodge Saga Continues; South Dakota Indian Tribe Suing James Arthur Ray For "Desecration of a Sacred Lakota Ceremony"

"Spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray​The lawsuits are beginning to mount up against "spiritual warrior" James Arthur Ray and the latest suit is coming from someone who wasn't even at the sweat lodge retreat that left three people dead and dozens injured. A man in Pine Ridge, South Dakota ha ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Deputies Admit Destroying Evidence in Racial Profiling Lawsuit

Nixon redux: Document shredding, deleted e-mails. What's next, secret tapes?In a stunning revelation recently made public as part of the ongoing federal civil rights lawsuit against the Maricopa County Sheriff's Department and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, an MCSO sergeant has admitted that the departmen ... More >>

Scottsdale Hospital Accused of Covering Up Employee Rape of Patient, Victim Says; Hospital Denies Allegations

​This is not a good week for Arizona hospitals. New Times reported yesterday about a nurse allegedly defecating in a Glendale operating room, and of a dead baby found in the same hospital's bathroom.   Well, here's more trouble to add to the list. A former Scottsdale Healthcar ... More >>

The Case That Won't End: Doug Grant's Stepdaughter Files `Wrongful-Death' Suit

If things weren't bad enough for Doug Grant, now serving a five-year prison term after a jury convicted him of manslaughter in the death of his wife Faylene, get this: Jenna Stradling, his 19-year-old stepdaughter (and a key witness against him in the controversial, high-profile case) has filed a& ... More >>

County's New Civil Litigation Department Approved by Court; Andrew Thomas Thwarted

  Just got word that the cease-and-desist motion filed by Maricopa County Andrew Thomas to stop the county from taking over civil litigation matters has failed. Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton rejected the motion. As we were the first to report on Monday, the county Board of Supervisors v ... More >>

Thomas and Arpaio Sue Board of Supervisors Over "Raid" of Funds

The Maricopa County Attorney's and Sheriff's offices have filed a lawsuit against the county Board of Supervisors in a bid to block the use of $11 million allegedly designated only for law enforcement purposes.The source of the latest squabble is simple to sum up: Money. According to the news releas ... More >>

Judge Orders Thomas to Show Conflicts in Case Vs. County Supervisors; Kicks Arpaio Off Lawsuit

The lawsuit filed against the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors by County Attorney Andrew Thomas can proceed, a judge has ruled, but Thomas must disclose any potential conflicts of interest in the case. Retired Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton also kicked Sheriff Joe Arpaio off the lawsuit, ... More >>

Sheriff Joe Arpaio’s Jails Lose National Accreditation

Phoenix Country Club board member Mike Hayes turned a sex-segregation issue into a juvenile shouting match

Dennis the Menace

Arpaio's lawyer can't explain away his fudged résumé

Howling Financial Woes

The wagering scandal enmeshing Wayne Gretzky through his wife and an assistant coach is the least of the Coyotes' problems

Histrionics Lesson

Again, a judge bends over and allows Sheriff Joe Arpaio to sneer at Arizona's public records law

Legal Beagles

Animal rights activists sue researcher

The Secret Storm

Proposed bill would ban confidentiality agreements in Arizona liability lawsuits

Flashes

Week of March 30, 2000

Alien Autopsy

Publisher wins right to print photos of immigrants who died after entering U.S.

Unpleasantville

Case Time Line

The Eternal Flame Part 2

Three decades ago, an unsolved murder case and arson fire scarred Lori Romaneck for life. Since 1993, she's been fighting a bureaucratic backdraft to set the record straight.

Case Time Line

Down the Drain

Judge flushes allegations that water was tainted by Motorola

Caged Hit

Inmate's family files claim against state for gang-related murder

Accountants Payable ?

Convicted con man Ben Friedman tells Phoenix accounting big shots Leonard Miller and Carlos Wagner to check their balance

Jafet Coronado's Good Samaritan

The nursing assistant was fired for sexual misconduct. But when he was charged with crimes, Samaritan Health System decided he deserved the best defense money could buy.

In the Name of the Father and the Son and the Wholly Owned Subsidiary

They put their life savings into a Christian housing development owned by the Conservative Baptists. Now they're praying for deliverance.

Second Helpings

A HOUSE DIVIDED

COUNTRY-CLUB LIVING IS NOT WHAT IT WAS CRACKED UP TO BE FOR ELLEN AND JOEL BARISH

FOLLOWING THE MONEYA NEW COURT FILING CLAIMS DEAN BREWER LOOTED CHARTER TITLE VERY THOROUGHLY, INDEED

PRO-BUSINESS BILLS FIND THE FAST TRACK

WHISTLE-BLOWERS' CHARGE: RTC TOOK A DIVE

A YEAR INSIDE THE MOTOROLA MESSSINNERS AND VICTIMS--WARRIORS AND REGULATORS