OPINION PELANDER, Justice. 1 Clifford Ochser brought this civil rights action against two deputy sheriffs for arresting him on a warrant that had been quashed some thirteen months earlier. Although we hold that Ochser's arrest was an unreasonable seizure prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, we conclude that the deputies are entitled to qualified immunity because then-existing law did not clearly establish the unconstitutionality of their actions. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 We...
OPINION BALES, Justice. 1 This automatic appeal arises from Jahmari Ali Manuel's conviction and death sentence for murdering Darrell Willeford. We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. 13-4031 (2011). FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 In March 2004, Manuel walked into a Phoenix pawn shop carrying a pistol covered with a blue plastic bag and immediately began firing at Willeford, the shop owner, who fell to the floor behind a counter....
OPINION BERCH, Chief Justice. 1 Any person "interested directly or indirectly in [a] matter" is disqualified from serving as a juror for that case. Ariz. Rev. Stat. ("A.R.S.") 21-211(2) (2002). The question before the Court is whether a peace officer employed by the law enforcement agency that investigated a criminal case has such a disqualifying interest. 1 The answer is yes. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY 2 Douglas Lee Eddington was charged as an accomplice in the murder of the...
OPINION BRUTINEL, Justice. 1 The issue in this case is whether the Adult Protective Services Act ("APSA"), A.R.S. 46-455 (2011), subjects the state to an action for damages under that statute. We hold that it does not and, therefore, affirm the superior court's summary judgment in favor of the State. I. 2 Jacob Braden, an adult with developmental disabilities, received services from Arizona Integrated Residential and Educational Services ("AIRES"), a licensed private corporation that...
OPINION HURWITZ, Vice Chief Justice. 1 Pursuant to A.R.S. 12-1861 to -1867 (2003) and Supreme Court Rule 27, we accepted jurisdiction of two questions certified by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Arizona: 1. Is the recording of an assignment of deed of trust required prior to the filing of a notice of trustee's sale under A.R.S. 33-808 when the assignee holds a promissory note payable to bearer 2. Must the beneficiary of a deed of trust being foreclosed...
OPINION BERCH, Chief Justice. 1 On July 12, 2011, Governor Janice K. Brewer ordered a special election for the recall of State Senator Russell Pearce. On September 13, 2011, this Court affirmed the trial court's order refusing to enjoin the election. This opinion explains our earlier order. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 On January 31, 2011, Citizens for a Better Arizona ("CBA") filed an application with Secretary of State Ken Bennett seeking to recall Senator Pearce, who...
OPINION PELANDER, Justice. 1 On May 25, 2011, we entered an order censuring Theodore Abrams for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct, permanently enjoining him from serving as a judicial officer in Arizona, and suspending him from the practice of law for two years, with an opinion to follow. This is that opinion. 2 Abrams was admitted to the Arizona bar in 1990. He was appointed as a Tucson City Court Magistrate in 2002. In December 2010, the Commission on Judicial Conduct ("Commission"...
OPINION BALES, Justice. 1 This automatic appeal arises from Scott Alan Lehr's convictions and death sentences for murdering two women. We have jurisdiction under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. 13-4031 (2011). FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 Over the course of about a year, beginning in February 1991, Lehr separately attacked ten women in central and northwest Phoenix, abducting and sexually assaulting his victims and brutally murdering three of them....
OPINION BALES, Justice. 1 This special action challenges the qualifications of three nominees to the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission. On January 19, 2011, we issued an order accepting jurisdiction and granting relief in part, stating that a written opinion would follow. This is that opinion. I. 2 In 2000, the voters approved Proposition 106, which amended the Arizona Constitution to require that a five-member Independent Redistricting Commission ("IRC") draw boundaries for...
OPINION BERCH, Chief Justice. 1 The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found error in this Court's independent review of James Lynn Styers' death sentence. We granted the State's request for this Court to conduct a new independent review and, following that review, affirm the sentence. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 A jury found James Lynn Styers guilty of the 1989 murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, kidnapping, and child abuse of four-year-old Christopher Milke....
OPINION PELANDER, Justice. 1 We accepted jurisdiction to answer three questions certified to us by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit: 1. Does the filing of a motion for class certification in an Arizona court toll the statute of limitations for individuals, who are included within the class, to file individual causes of action involving the same defendants and the same subject matter 2. If so, does this class-action tolling doctrine apply to statutes of repose, and...
OPINION BRUTINEL, Justice. 1 Michael Hummons was convicted of possessing a narcotic drug and drug paraphernalia. The court of appeals affirmed, holding that the trial court did not err in denying a motion to suppress evidence found during a search incident to arrest. Assuming Hummons had been illegally detained, the court of appeals found that the arresting officer's search was incident to an arrest on an outstanding warrant and, therefore, sufficiently attenuated from the illegal detention...
OPINION BRUTINEL, Justice. 1 The question presented is whether police officers lawfully conducted a protective sweep of a suspect's apartment when he and other occupants were detained outside. We find the protective sweep violated the Fourth Amendment under the circumstances of this case. I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 In May 2006, Mesa police responded to a call alleging an aggravated assault. The victim, who was bleeding from a cut on his head, told police he had been pistol-...
OPINION BERCH, Chief Justice. 1 We granted review in this case to consider (1) whether a commercial general liability (CGL) policy covers an insured's contractual liability for damage that caused only economic loss, (2) whether the CGL policy's contractual liability exclusion applies only when an insured has "assumed" another's liability by agreeing to indemnify or hold another harmless, and (3) whether an insured's voluntary expenditures to repair property damage caused by construction...
OPINION PELANDER, Justice. 1 The issue presented is whether the same standard governs a trial court's rulings on pre-verdict and post-verdict motions for judgment of acquittal under Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure 20. We hold that the same standard applies, disapproving of any contrary language in State ex rel. Hyder v. Superior Court, 128 Ariz. 216 , 624 P.2d 1264 (1981). I. 2 Randall and Penny West were charged with child abuse after an infant in their foster care died from...
OPINION PELANDER, Justice. 1 Wayne Benoit Prince, Jr. was convicted of first degree murder of his stepdaughter and attempted first degree murder of his wife. He was sentenced to death for the murder and to a prison term for the attempt conviction. We have jurisdiction over this automatic appeal under Article 6, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. 13-4031 and 13-4033(A)(1) (2010). 1 I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 The pertinent facts are set forth in our first...
OPINION HURWITZ, Vice Chief Justice. 1 Clarence Wayne Dixon was convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to death. We have jurisdiction over his automatic appeal under Article VI, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. 13-4031 and 13-4033(A)(1) (2011). 1 I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 2 On January 6, 1978, Deana Bowdoin, a 21-year-old Arizona State University senior, had dinner with her parents and then went to a nearby bar to meet a female friend. The...
OPINION BALES, Justice. 1 Arizona's Constitution entitles victims "[t]o be present at and, upon request, to be informed of all criminal proceedings where the defendant has the right to be present." Ariz. Const. art. 2, 2.1(A)(3). The issue here is whether this provision entitles victims to attend an ex parte hearing on the return of summonses issued as part of defense counsel's pretrial investigation of mitigation evidence in a capital case. Because the defendant has no right to attend...
OPINION HURWITZ, Vice Chief Justice. 1 Donald David Delahanty was convicted of first degree murder, attempted arson, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, and solicitation to commit first degree murder. He was sentenced to death for the murder and to prison terms for the other offenses. We have jurisdiction over his appeal under Article VI, Section 5(3) of the Arizona Constitution and A.R.S. 13-4031 and 13-4033(A)(1) (2010). 1 I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 2 2 On May 10,...
OPINION BRUTINEL, Justice. 1 Under Arizona Revised Statutes ("A.R.S.") section 42-18206 (2010), a tax lien purchaser is entitled to a judgment for costs and reasonable attorney fees if the delinquent taxpayer redeems the lien after the purchaser commences a foreclosure action. We hold that a tax lien purchaser is only entitled to reasonable attorney fees incurred before the lien is redeemed and a certificate of redemption issues. I. 2 This protracted litigation began in March 2005,...
