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Maricopa County Criminal Prosecutor’s Resignation Will Likely Result In A Positive Change For People Charged With DUI In The Phoenix Area
Posted by Ted Agnick, The Lawyer | Posted in General DUI News | Posted on 07-04-2010
As an Arizona DUI Attorney, I see Andrew Thomas’ (The Head Maricopa County Criminal Prosecutor) resignation as an opportunity for citizens accused of DUI to get better justice in Maricopa County. Andrew Thomas’ last day as the Maricopa County Attorney is April 7, 2010. Many people see this as a change for the better. In fact, rumor has it that some Maricopa County Deputy County Attorneys (the attorneys that work for Andrew Thomas in the trenches prosecuting people for DUI on a daily basis) got together with Defense attorneys on the evening of April 6, 2010 to celebrate Andrew Thomas’ departure.
Andrew Thomas has been in the news a lot lately as he became so emboldened that he filed criminal charges against at least one Maricopa County Superior Court Judge. He also filed criminal charges against County Board Chairman Don Stapely and County Supervisor Mary Wilcox. These three County Officials were defendants in Andrew Thomas’ unsuccessful federal civil-racketeering lawsuit he filed against them. These prosecutions resulted in Andrew Thomas reportedly being investigated by the FBI, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and the State Bar of Arizona for alleged abuse of prosecutorial power in his handling of criminal cases against Stapley, Wilcox and a Superior Court judge. It appears that his behavior got so far out of hand that the Feds had to step in.
Andrew Thomas’ policies affected many DUI prosecutions. My impression has been that many prosecutors wanted to do what they thought was justice and make better deals on cases or dismiss charges. However, they were bound by policy and could not participate in the justice system in the manner which they had hoped.
Andrew Thomas’ departure will hopefully result in more reasonable policies that will have a good affect on citizens charged with DUI in the Phoenix Area. It would be hard to imagine things getting any worse.
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