Maricopa County Superior Court

Ex-Phoenix Firefighter Mark Nehrenz Gets Jail Time for Drunk-Driving Into a Teenager

A former Phoenix firefighter who was driving drunk when he hit a teenager and drove away in 2011 will spend a little time in jail.Mark Nehrenz was sentenced to 45 days in jail and three years on probation for the incident, which left the teenager with a broken hip.See also:-Phoenix Firefighter Mark ... More >>

Jodi Arias Trial: The Jury Has Reached a Verdict

UPDATE: Jodi Arias Guilty of First-Degree Premeditated Murder, Jury FindsThe jury has reached a verdict in the murder trial of Jodi Arias.According to a spokesman for the Maricopa County Superior Court, the verdict will be read at 1:30 p.m.See also:-Jury Deciding Arias' Fate-Psycho Killer-Jodi Arias ... More >>

Using Feet-Eating Fish to Perform Pedicures Isn't a Constitutional Right, Judge Rules

A Maricopa County judge has ruled that there's no constitutional right to running a pedicure business that utilized feet-sucking fish, in a legal battle between a salon owner and the state cosmetology board that's been going on since 2009.The Goldwater Institute's lawsuit claimed that salon owner Ci ... More >>

Four Maricopa Judges With Hispanic-Sounding Last Names in Bottom Six for Vote Getters -- Looks Like Evidence of Racism

Out of 43 Maricopa County Superior Court judges, four have last names that sound Hispanic. It doesn't seem like a coincidence that those four happen to have ended up among the six worst vote-getters in last night's election. Scanning over the vote counts today, it looks like Maricopa County reside ... More >>

Second Suspect Arrested in Clubhouse Music Venue Shooting

Officials from the Tempe Police Department recently arrested a second suspect in connection with the now-infamous shootings that took place outside of the Clubhouse Music Venue earlier this year. According to documents from Maricopa County Superior Court obtained by Up on the Sun, Tempe cops appreh ... More >>

Michael Kiefer, A Novelist "On The Side," To Read At Changing Hands Bookstore Tonight

Mike Kiefer, a longtime colleague of ours and (more important) a longtime friend, writes these days for the Arizona Republic, mostly about bad guys in trouble down at the Maricopa County Superior Court and elsewhere. One of those bad guys is Jared Lee Loughner, is pictured to the left (ju ... More >>

Arizona Medical-Marijuana Dispensary Applications Trickle In; 15 Submitted on First Day

The state opened the door for medical-marijuana dispensary applications yesterday, receiving 15 by the end of the day. Hopeful pot-shop owners will have until 5 p.m. on May 25 to submit the applications. Besides paying a $5,000 application fee, weed-trepeneurs must include a business plan and detai ... More >>

Judge To Rule On Martinson Murder Case Motions Soon: UPDATE

The judge in the Jeffrey Martinson murder case told the attorneys at a hearing this morning that she will issue rulings on critical defense motions in a few days. ​Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sally Duncan invited comments from both sides concerning recently filed lega ... More >>

Local Woman Who Represented Self In Med-Mal Suit Gets Second Crack At Allegedly Wayward Doc

The old saw that he who represents himself in court has a fool for a client carries weight with us, having seen the usually sorry outcomes of such endeavors.   ​But an Arizona Court of Appeals decision filed last week gives a local woman hope that her self-composed lawsuit against a bo ... More >>

Supreme Court Judge Mike Ryan UPDATE: Funeral Mass This Friday Afternoon

We happened by the Old Courthouse on West Washington Street early this afternoon to pick up some documents, and were greeted at the front steps by a horde of black-robed Maricopa County Superior Court judges having a group photo taken. What a crew!   Judge Michael Ryan hated this ph ... More >>

Jasen Achondo, Tempe Dad Who Left 11-Month-Old in Running Bathtub, Gets Probation, Jail Time

​A Tempe man who left his 11-month-old son in a running bathtub last year was in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning where he was sentenced to six months in jail and 10 years probation.Jason Achondo, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse in November.Achondo and his baby-mama, 23 ... More >>

Baseline Killer Jury Resumes Deliberations This Morning: Mark Goudeau's Fate At Stake

The jury in the Mark Goudeau serial murder/rape case resumes deliberations this morning in downtown Phoenix at the Maricopa County Superior Court. Tick tock tick tock: Jury continues to pore over evidence in Goudeau case ​The 12-person panel did not convene on Friday, and has completed j ... More >>

Hermenegildo Morffah, Cuban Military Vet, Gets 22 Years in Prison For Snapping Girlfriend's Neck

Hermenegildo Cardenes Morffah​A Phoenix man who claims he learned to kill while a member of the Cuban military was sentenced in Maricopa County Superior Court today to 22 years in prison for fatally snapping his girlfriend's neck during an argument. Hermenegildo Cardenes Morffah pl ... More >>

Ron Reinstein, Former Superior Court Judge, Wins Big Honor in D.C.

Ron Reinstein was one of the more respected Maricopa County Superior Court judges in his 22 years on the bench that ended with his 2007 retirement. Ron Reinstein--One of the good guys ​The former major-felony prosecutor was known by most (hey, you can't be friends with everyone) as an em ... More >>

Cuban Military Vet Pleads Guilty to Charges He Fatally Snapped Girlfriend's Neck During Fight

Hermenegildo Cardenes Morffah​A Phoenix man who claims he learned to kill while a member of the Cuban military was in a Maricopa County Superior Court this morning where he pleaded guilty to charges that he fatally snapped his girlfriend's neck during an argument. Hermenegildo Cardenes Morff ... More >>

Russell Pearce's Son Joshua Arrested, in MCSO Custody

Josh, son of Russell, back in stirState Senate President Russell Pearce's son Joshua Trent Pearce was arrested February 9 by the Mesa Police Department on outstanding warrants issued by the Maricopa County Superior Court. Currently he's cooling his heels in Durango Jail.The thirty year-old unemploye ... More >>

DMX Granted Continuance at Hearing; New Court Date Set for December 16

One of rapper DMX's many mug shots​Embattled rapper DMX was granted a continuance at his probation revocation hearing this morning at Maricopa County Superior Court. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, was on probation following his release from jail this past July. He was arrested at his home i ... More >>

Phoenix P.D.'s Alleged Time Thieves Plead Not Guilty

​Three Phoenix police officers, and one former officer, were in Maricopa County Superior Court this morning, where they all pleaded not guilty to theft-related charges.Sergeant Benjamin Swarungsymun and officers Steven Peck and Aaron Lentz face theft charges, while former Officer George Contreras ... More >>

Thomas Destories, a.k.a. "Paydirt," Pleads Guilty to Killing Speed-Cam Operator

Thomas Patrick Destories​The Phoenix man -- known in certain circles as "Paydirt" -- who shot and killed the operator of a speed-camera van in April of last year seems to have gotten his wish: photo-radar is now done-zo on Arizona highways.Not that it's likely to effect him -- he plead guilty to ... More >>

Warrant Issued for Parents of Liberian Girl Raped by Group of Children Last Year

www.blogcdn.comHemie Dio and Wedeh Dio failed to show up to court yesterday.​Nearly a year after a group of four Liberian boys raped an 8-year-old Liberian girl in a shed in the apartment complex where she lived, a bench warrant has been issued for the parents of the victim after they failed to sh ... More >>

Maricopa County Superior Court's Norm Davis Officially Takes Over as Presiding Judge

Norm Davis, a steady-as-she-goes gent we dealt with when he presided as the chief judge in both Juvenile and Family Court, started his five-year term today as the presiding judge of Maricopa County Superior Court. ​  What we like about Judge Davis (that's a photo of him from a few ... More >>

Hot Links: Gas Leaks, Rabbi Arrested, and Chateau on Central

​A gas leak has prompted the evacuation of about 20 homes in the area of Doubletree Ranch and Scottsdale Roads. No injuries have been reported and Southwest Gas has been notified, but Scottsdale Road is closed at Doubletree Ranch in both directions. Traffic is being diverted southbound at Mountain ... More >>

Bomb-Threat Caller in December Maricopa County Court Evacuation had Made Similar Threat to Public Defender's Office Two Days Earlier

Image: Ray Stern Investigators determined the December 2 bomb threat was made from this phone on Third Avenue, which is hidden from the sight of a surveillance camera.​ The person who called in a bomb threat that cleared out the Maricopa County Superior Court building on December 2, one day ... More >>

Hot Links: Prostitution, Luke Air Force Base, and Chihuahuas

​Three women who worked at a massage parlor in Yuma have been arrested for allegedly running a prostitution ring out of the business. Won Shil Shim, Muae Park, and Hyun Joo Song, all Korean citizens, were charged after an ongoing investigation into the Somerton parlor. Shim was released on more th ... More >>

Bomb Threat Clears Superior Court's East Wing; Rumor Mill Churning Over Possibility of Link to Sheriff

A phoned-in bomb threat this morning at the Maricopa County Superior Court had some folks wondering about a possible tie to negative news about Sheriff Joe Arpaio. An earlier bomb threat at the court last month followed the jailing of Adam Stoddard, the detention officer Sheriff Arpaio claimed ... More >>

Sheriff's Deputies Visit a Half-Dozen County Employees At Home This Weekend

  Sheriff Joe's deputies were busy this weekend.​Deputies with the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office paid visits to at least seven rank-and-file county employees over the weekend, attempting to question them about the court tower project, county spending, and other topics ... More >>

Judge Donahoe Criminal Case Assigned to Pinal County Judge; Stapley and Wilcox Cases Assigned to Pima County Judge

The presiding judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court has assigned the criminal cases of Judge Gary Donahoe and County Supervisors Don Stapley and Mary Rose Wilcox to judges in other counties. ​Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell, (left) who is herself a target of the broad -- and vague -- ra ... More >>

Top Superior Court Judge: Chief Deputy's Complaints are "False, Frivolous and Slanderous"

​The top judge at the Maricopa County Superior Court took a strong stance against four judicial complaints filed by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's chief deputy, calling them "false, frivolous and slanderous." Here's the entire statement released this morning by Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell (pictured ... More >>

Charges Dismissed Against Mesa Woman Accused of Putting Fetus in Backpack

www.ebaumsworld.com​A 22-year-old Mesa woman accused of leaving a fetus in a backpack had criminal charges against her dismissed today in Maricopa County Superior Court.Back in March, police at the Gila River Indian Community found a backpack under a tree while on a routine patrol about five ... More >>

Woman Sues Mesa Bar After Stripper Pole Breaks, and She Topples

www.estergoldberg.com​ A Mesa woman has filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court accusing a local sports bar of violating city codes by not applying for a building permit for a stripper pole that she toppled from, cutting her ring finger. ReAnna M. Hedrick, 28, claims in the Oc ... More >>

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 D ... More >>

Lawsuit: MCSO Detained Mexican With Valid Visa For 13 Days

​Sergio Martinez Villaman was in this country legally -- with the papers, passport, and VISA to prove it. But sheriff's deputies thought the Mexican national must be one of those dreaded "illegals." During a June 2008 crime sweep in Mesa, they pulled him over on one of the usual pretexts, for ... More >>

Cheerleading Companies Fight to Block Pending Limits on Their Customers by Sports Association

Image: www.arizonaheat.org​Give me an -- injunction! Three "all-star" cheerleading gyms in the Valley are suing the Arizona Interscholastic Association, claiming the rule-making collaborative of state schools is ruining their business. A lawsuit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court a coup ... More >>

Hot Links: Coyotes, Dogs in Heat, and Dead Sharks in the Road

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled yesterday that the city of Glendale must reveal records by Friday that show what incentives it's offering to a new owner of the Phoenix Coyotes ice hockey team. Among the potential team buyers are Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf, and Daryl Jones o ... 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 >>

No Jail for DMX: Rapper Sentenced to Supervised Probation

Wikimedia Commons DMX has avoided more jail time in Phoenix.Earl Simmons, better known as rapper DMX, will not have to do more jail time in Phoenix.The hip-hop star, 38, was sentenced to supervised probation by the Maricopa County Superior Court today, for a charge stemming from his previous ... More >>

Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Legislative Districting Plan

Ruth McGregor This just in: The Arizona Supreme Court has upheld the state's legislative districting plan, nearly seven years after it was initially adopted.A group of left-leaning advocates, including Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, State Representative Pete Rios and the Hispanic Bar A ... More >>

THIS JUST IN: Mormon Murder Trial Ends With Manslaughter Conviction Against Doug Grant

Sports nutritionist Doug Grant was convicted of manslaughter in the bathtub-drowning death of his wife, Faylene, by a Maricopa County Superior Court jury a few minutes ago. The so-called Mormon murder case (Doug and Faylene Grant, pictured, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ... More >>

UPDATE: No End in Sight to Juror Deliberations in the Mormon Murder Trial

The 12-person jury in the Doug Grant Mormon murder case has gone home for the weekend, and it appears that members are nowhere close to reaching a verdict. The best indication of that is a "deliberation schedule" the panel sent out a few days ago to Judge Meg Mahoney, who has presided over the high ... More >>

Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall Fire Started by 14-year-old, Says Fire Department

  Hellfire and damnation came to a Mesa Kingdom Hall last month in the form of an arsonist who lit up the place. The fire caused $500,000 in damage to the building, a church for Jehovah's Witnesses. As it turns out, this wasn't retribution by a jealous god, nor the devious act of a pe ... More >>

UPDATE: Mormon Murder Trial Jury Still Deliberating

Maricopa County Superior Court jurors in the Doug Grant murder case have been deliberating his fate for 10 hours and counting.  Grant (not the Jason-looking Doug Grant to the left) is charged with killing his wife Faylene back in September 2001 at their Gilbert home. With devou ... More >>

Court Commissioner's Leather Jacket Helped Rapist Escape From Superior Court

  A convicted child rapist who escaped custody at the Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday helped himself to a court commissioner's leather jacket before walking out the front door of the court building, says a source close to the investigation. Adrian Gonzalez Cruz, 28, showed u ... More >>

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-de ... More >>

Motion from Demon Dog Dennis Wilenchik and Candy "Babyface" Thomas shot down by Judge Barbara "Badass" Mundell.

Stick It to 'Em!

The Phoenix City Council can't sanction the $350 million, city-owned convention center hotel. By law, a referendum must be held.

Fid Life Crisis

Fiduciary pleads guilty to stealing money from clients

Letters

08-31-00

Judge Not

By letting cases languish, a veteran Family Court judge and his assistant created havoc in the lives of parents and children

Docket Science

Civil suits take back seat to criminal cases in county's full court press

Flashes