Pima County

Medical-Pot Card Doesn't Provide Immunity to People With More Weed Than Law Allows, AZ Appeals Court Affirms; Patient-to-Patient Transfer Still in Question

Medical-marijuana cardholders can be prosecuted when they possess too much weed or do something else that falls outside the boundaries of state law, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last week. It sounds like a no-brainer -- break the law, you could be prosecuted. But the voter-approved 2010 Medic ... More >>

Meet the Three Women Currently on Arizona's Death Row

While a jury's apparently having a tough time deciding whether Jodi Arias should be put to death for killing Travis Alexander, we'll point out that Arias would join just a few other women on death row, if that's where the jury decides to send her.There are only three Arizona women in the custody of ... More >>

Phoenix SWAT Team Rams House, Kidnapping Suspect Shoots Himself During the Raid

The Phoenix Police Department's SWAT team rammed a house Tuesday morning with a giant truck, trying to storm the home after 32-year-old Israel Celis Sr. allegedly kidnapped his own child and beat his wife in a hotel room. An Amber Alert that set off a nearly 12-hour chase and standoff ... More >>

Sheriff Paul Babeu Babeu'd Himself, Leaps Ahead of Facts in Border Agent's Death

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's insatiable desire to stand in the limelight has once bitten him in the keister. This time, he latched on to the death of Border Patrol Agent Nicholas Ivie as a way to get center stage and deliver his anti-President Obama sentiments. See also: Babeu Blasted Pima ... More >>

Joe Arpaio's Early Christmas Gift from President Obama and the U.S. Attorney's Office

See also: Andy Thomas Needs a Perp Walk With His Papi, Sheriff Joe Arpaio See also: No Charges for Arpaio: U.S. Closes Criminal Investigation of Maricopa Sheriff and Former County Attorney Andrew Thomas See also: The Feds Have Evidence That Joe Arpaio Broke the Law -- When Will The Indictments Come? ... More >>

John Leonardo, New AZ US Attorney, Recuses Himself From Sheriff Joe Arpaio Abuse-of-Power Investigation; As Judge, Ruled That Arpaio Did Abuse Power

See also: John Leonardo, Arizona's New U.S. Attorney, is No Fan of Sheriff Arpaio John Leonardo, the new Arizona U.S. Attorney, believes that Joe Arpaio abused his power as Maricopa County Sheriff. Leonardo said so in a ruling back in 2010, when he was a Pima County Superior Court judge. Howeve ... More >>

Vekol Valley Bodies ID'd as Tempe Residents; Bullet Casings and Blood Found Inside Home

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu's claims that a "violent drug cartel" murdered five people in the Vekol Valley are looking more outlandish and unfounded by the hour.Two of the five charred bodies found inside a burned SUV have been identified by the Pima County medical examiner as James and Yafit Bu ... More >>

James Butwin Death Ruled Suicide; Wife and Three Children All Killed by Gunshots

The Tempe Police Department's theory that the five bodies found in the Vekol Valley this weekend were victims of a murder/suicide continues to check out.Yesterday, the Pima County medical examiner identified the two adult bodies found in the SUV in the desert as James and Yafit Butwin, and sure enou ... More >>

John Leonardo, Obama Nominee for Arizona U.S. Attorney, Said In 2010 Ruling That Sheriff Arpaio "Misused the Power of His Office"

​The former Pima County Superior Court judge nominated by President Obama to be Arizona U.S. Attorney once wrote in a ruling that Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio "misused the power of his office."It should be interesting to see if Leonardo acts on his beliefs, if he's confirmed by the U.S. Sena ... More >>

Top 10 Albums of 2011: Chase Kamp

Peaking Lights​Welcome to another installment of Up on the Sun's 2011 Review. Over the next couple days we'll be counting down our favorite songs, shows, national and local releases of 2011. This entry comes from Chase Kamp, a Phoenix musician and writer. Kamp began writing for Up on the Sun w ... More >>

Jeff Flake-Richard Carmona Match-Up Closer Than Flake Versus Don Bivens, Poll Says

Can Carmona beat Jeff Flake? Seems a better bet than Don Bivens, at least...According to a new survey by the North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling, Arizona Democrats might actually have a shot at beating Republican golden-boy Congressman Jeff Flake in the 2012 race to replace U.S. Senator Jon K ... More >>

Dennis Burke Won't Prosecute Sheriff Arpaio or His Employees Over "Exorbitant" Extradition Costs

​ Extraditions performed by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office were "inexplicably exorbitant" but not a criminal misuse of public funds, U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke has decided. At the request of County Manager David Smith (see below), Burke's office conducted a review of how Sheri ... More >>

Two Former Pima County Sheriff's Deputies Charged for Allegedly Ripping Off Drug Dealers

​The United States Department of Justice announced today that two former Pima County Sheriff's deputies have been indicted on charges that they used their positions as law enforcement officials to help three other men rip off drug dealers and steal government-seized narcotics.Francisco J. Jimenez, ... More >>

Ethnic Studies Revolt: Students Take Over TUSD Governing Board Meeting

Courtesy of the Three Sonorans, the revolution is YouTube-izedHow often have you seen students protest and commit acts of civil disobedience because they want to study something?While their peers in the rest of the country may be looking to cut class, Tucson's students are battling to maintain ethni ... More >>

Kid-Killing Minutewoman Shawna Forde's Accomplice Guilty on All Counts in Murders of Man and Child

Jason Eugene Bush​Kid-killing Minutewoman Shawna Forde's co-defendant, Jason Eugene Bush, was found guilty this morning in a Pima County Superior Court for the murders of an Arivaca man and his daughter in May 2009.In addition to the two first-degree murder convictions for the murders of Rau ... More >>

Jared Loughner Attorneys Join Prosecutors in Request to Bar Release of Victims' Autopsy Reports

Jared Lee Loughner​Federal prosecutors handling the the trial of Jared Loughner, the lone suspect in the January 8, shooting rampage in Tucson, have requested a gag order that would bar the release of the autopsies of the six people killed during the attack. Today, Loughner's attorneys ... More >>

Prosecutors Seek Gag Order for Autopsies of Tucson Shooting Victims

Jared Loughner​Federal prosecutors in the trial of Jared Loughner, the lone suspect in the January 8, shooting rampage in Tucson, have requested a gag order that would bar the release of the autopsies of the six people killed during the attack.The request was made to U.S. District Judge Larry Burn ... More >>

Jared Loughner's Less-Crazy Looking Mugshot Released by U.S. Marshals

​The U.S. Marshals Service released today another mugshot of Tucson shooting suspect Jared Loughner. In it, as you can see below, he looks far-less maniacal than he does in the now-infamous photo taken by the Pima County sheriff's deputies shortly after the shooting.Loughner's attorneys had fought ... More >>

Gabrielle Giffords and Jared Loughner: A Contrast in Yearbooks

Scripps College 1993 Yearbook Gabrielle Giffords, (Top L to R) Senior Photo, her senior page, sporting traditional Mennonite clothing, with her mother Gloria, and competing in an equestrian competition, ​The school careers of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and Jared Lee Loughner cou ... More >>

Judge John Roll In Peers' Thoughts At Superior Court Investiture

It was an upbeat event, yesterday's investiture ceremony in downtown Phoenix for incoming Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Douglas Gerlach.The late Judge John Roll​Presiding county judge Norm Davis led the Pledge of Allegiance and Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch adminis ... More >>

John Roll, Chief Judge of District Court in Arizona, and the Ninth Circuit's Release

Photo issued by the 9th Circuit of deceased jurist John Roll Normally, I do not post press releases in their entirety on this blog, but I think an exception is warranted in the case of this statement from the United States' Ninth Circuit Court regarding Arizona's Chief District Judge John ... More >>

Kumari Fulbright, "Beauty Queen" Made Famous by Heinous Mug Shot, is Heading to Prison

Hide your children.​Kumari Fulbright, the former "beauty queen" and law student, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit kidnapping after the bizarre kidnapping and torture of her ex-boyfriend two years ago, was sentenced to two years in prison and six months probation by a Pima County Superi ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Loses Big-Time, Cannot Avoid Hearing with Board of Supervisors

Cough up those docs, Joe, or it's Tent City for you, bub. He may think he's answerable to no one, but a Pima County judge has ruled that Sheriff Joe Arpaio cannot thumb his nose at the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors when they come calling for financial records and order him to attend a h ... More >>

Tucson Man Admits Beating Wife to Death With Flashlight in 2006

Henry Fischbacher admitted today to beating his wife to death with a flashlight.​ A Tucson man who spent more than three years in Canada fighting extradition back to Arizona admitted this afternoon to the 2006 beating death of his wife.Henry Fischbacher told the Pima County Superior Cou ... More >>

Don Stapley Sues Maricopa County, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, and County Attorney Andrew Thomas

  ​Maricopa County Supervisor Don Stapley filed a precursor to a lawsuit today against the county and various elected officials -- including himself -- for alleged malicious prosecution and other grievances. He wants $5 million for his troubles. The notice of claim was fil ... More >>

Tucson Mother Admits to Starving Baby to Death; May Get Parole

27-year-old Terri Sullivan​A Tucson woman told a judge on Wednesday that she starved her baby, Kimberlie, which caused the baby's death in August of 2008. In Pima County Superior Court, 27-year-old Terri Sullivan admitted to starving the baby after it was born in July of 2008 ... More >>

Joe Arpaio Battles Isabel Garcia on Anderson Cooper 360

For those who didn't catch it, here's the segment from Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN last night, which featured a face-off between Sheriff Joe and Isabel Garcia, Pima County Legal Defender and Co-Chair of the human rights organization Coalición de Derechos Humanos. The mini-debate followed a report by ... More >>

Prosecutors Pursue Death Penalty for Three Nativists Who Killed Father and 9-Year Old on U.S.-Mexico Border

Shawna Forde​Looks like our nativist cover-girl Shawna Forde and two others could get the death penalty for their roles in the murder of a man and his 9-year old daughter during an Arivaca home invasion earlier this year. Deputy Pima County attorney Kellie Johnson announced yesterday that she ... More >>

ACLU to Host Forum on "Constitution-Free" Zone Near Border That Allows Checkpoints

Border Patrol checkpoints and their impact on civil rights will be discussed at a forum next week in Green Valley hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union. The topic is a hot one in the southern Arizona community, where some residents have fought plans to install a permanent checkpoint on Inte ... More >>

Maria Weeg Out as Dems' Executive Director, And Dandy Don Bivens Plans to Run for Chair (Again)

The Weegster's takin' a powder. At least that's what the e-mails're sayin'...So, Maria, what took you so long? The two e-mail missives below just arrived via third parties, and though I've yet to receive an official confirmation from the AZ Democratic Party, the letter from party Executive Dir ... More >>

Arizona Dems in Freefall as Paul Eckerstrom Steps Down as State Party Chair

Eckerstrom, following his upset win against Bivens two weeks ago.To cop a line from that Don McLean song, somewhere Satan is laughing in delight. And Zona Republicans are laughing right along with him. This, at the news that Arizona state Democratic Party Chair Paul Eckerstrom has resigned his post ... More >>

The Bird Documents Randy Pullen’s Smear of Lisa James and Hobnobs with Democrats and Republicans

How Convenient!

The Bird asks Pinal County: Want to get somebody deserving indicted? Try Joe Arpaio underling David Hendershott, for destroying evidence

Boob's Tube

Here's how publicity hound Joe Arpaio used a TV station to try to destroy rival Dan Saban with a bogus rape claim

Art For Whose Sake?

Dropouts swap frescoes for GEDs.

Dangerous Duo

Husband-wife politicos are helping themselves at the expense of the elderly and infirm

Luck Out

The state's mistake means a convicted killer goes free - at least for now

Judging Stanley

Justice Stanley Feldman has ruled the Arizona legal scene for years. But now he's gone. And Governor Janet Napolitano has some important decisions to make.

Tax Broke

Why is the state budget in crisis? Ask your legislators.

From Ecstasy to Agony

Owner of Tucson-based Safari Media Inc. indicted

The Mane Course

No blue-plait special for this horse braider

Twisted Ecologic

Governor Hull says it's time for inclusiveness in politics. Environmentalists say she won't give them the time of day.

Fostering Sexual Abuse

Foster kids say the state ignored its own policies, exposing them to sexual predators

Flashes

Letters

Fif'e Slow Dance With Debt

Boxer Rebellion

When it comes to Sheriff Arpaio's underwear policy, taxpayers are taking it in the shorts

HOW CHILD-ABUSE CASES CAN BE PROSECUTED

UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA COURSE TITLE: DIRTY TRICKS 101

SIEGE, SIEGE, SENOR

REMOTE BORDER AREA IS TERRORIZED BY ROBBIN' HOODS