Last Friday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a new administrative order laying out a plan for courts to return to normal operations. Since March, the Supreme Court has ordered a limit to in-person court proceedings, the suspension of jury trials, and the use of telecommunication to conduct hearings. Last Friday’s order is the first of its kind to establish...
Continue ReadingNew Supreme Court Order Extends Limitation on Court Proceedings Amid COVID-19 Last Friday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a new administrative order limiting in-person court proceedings in Arizona’s courthouses until June 1, 2020. The Supreme Court has ordered all lower Arizona courts to limit in-person proceedings to “the greatest extent possible,” suspend the empaneling of new juries and adopt...
Continue ReadingOn Monday, the United States Supreme Court ruled in Ramos v. Louisiana that the Sixth Amendment requires a unanimous jury verdict to convict anyone accused of a serious crime and that this requirement applies to the states. If you are like most people, you may have thought that this was already the law. In general, that is true. The...
Continue ReadingAlong with many Americans stuck in quarantine over the past weeks, I decided to distract myself from the COVID-19 crisis to gawk unabashedly at the train wreck of a show that is Netflix’s Tiger King. Like a gift from the entertainment gods, Tiger King came at a time when Americans cooped up in their homes needed it most. It...
Continue ReadingCoronavirus Alters Criminal Justice Procedures in Arizona and Nationwide. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the previous weeks, Arizona jails have released inmates while prosecuting agencies have adopted more lenient charging policies. Maricopa County Sheriff Paul Penzone announced last Thursday the suspension of the work furlough and work release programs currently in place in the Maricopa County jail system, essentially...
Continue ReadingThe City of Scottsdale has announced on its website that Scottsdale City Court will be continuing a majority of its hearings until May 1st in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic. This includes all out of custody criminal arraignments and proceedings, all cases assigned to the East Valley Regional Veteran’s Court, all civil traffic cases, and all jury trials....
Continue ReadingMaricopa and Pima County Superior Courts Extend Suspension of Jury Duty due to Coronavirus Both Maricopa and Pima County Superior Court issued updates on their responses to the novel Coronavirus pandemic on Friday. The Pima County update noted that jury service would now be suspended until April 20, 2020. Previously, the court had only ordered the suspension of jury...
Continue ReadingThe Maricopa County Attorney’s Office has announced that it will be changing its policies for charging criminal cases in order to reduce the spread of the novel Coronavirus in Arizona courts. This appears to mean that charging decisions (i.e., the decision of the prosecutor on whether to bring criminal charges against an individual) will become more lenient to reduce...
Continue ReadingArizona Supreme Court Orders Limitation on In-Person Contact Throughout Arizona’s Court System On Monday, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a sweeping administrative order affecting the working of Arizona courts in light of “concern for the spread of COVID-19 in the general population.” Among the dramatic actions taken by Chief Justice Robert Brutinel, who signed the directive on behalf the Arizona...
Continue ReadingJury Duty Canceled in Some Arizona Courts, Trials Postponed The Arizona justice system has begun to take stop-gap measures to address concerns over the Coronavirus. Although no general policy has yet been announced, the Maricopa County Superior Court canceled jury selection on Monday to address rising concerns surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak. In a recent update to its website, the...
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