Arpaio's Chief Deputy Files Judicial Complaints Against Four Judges; UPDATE: Read All Four Complaints

An investigation should be launched against four retired and current Maricopa Superior Court judges who committed ethical breaches, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's chief deputy demands in letters to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. The complaint letters by Dave Hendershott (left in festive shirt while in Houduras on alleged MCSO business), dated...

By Ray Stern

December 3, 2009

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An investigation should be launched against four retired and current Maricopa Superior Court judges who committed ethical breaches, Sheriff Joe Arpaio's chief deputy demands in letters to the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The complaint letters by Dave Hendershott (left in festive shirt while in Houduras on alleged MCSO business), dated November 30, comes on the heels of the federal racketeering lawsuit launched earlier this week by Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

Among the claims:

Hendershott says retired Judge Anna Baca "induced" court employees to help press a lawsuit against the Sheriff's Office on behalf of public defense attorneys related to slashed jail-visitation hours. He also says Baca ignored reports that retired Judge Kenneth Fields, who was assigned the case against County Supervisor Don Stapley, was biased.

We've obtained two of the complaints for you to look at:

Baca

Fields

UPDATE:

Mundell complaint.pdf

Donahoe complaint.pdf

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.