Feds no longer collect school shooting data, advocates left to scramble
WASHINGTON - As students walk out of classes to protest gun violence, the federal agency that had collected data on school shootings quietly stopped gathering it last year, leaving advocates scrambling to make sense of varied and sometimes conflicting private records.
State getting convictions as it slowly works through rape kit backlog
WASHINGTON - Since 2016, Arizona has methodically worked its way through a backlog of 6,424 rape kits that had been sitting in evidence rooms for years, testing more than half by this spring resulting in eight hits on suspects in previously unsolved crimes.
Immigration court backlog likely to grow in face of cuts, experts say
WASHINGTON - More than 684,000 cases are waiting to be heard in immigration courts across the country - 10,422 of them in Arizona - a number that is only expected to grow if the administration cuts an immigrant legal assistance program and adds case quotas for judges, advocates said.
Court OKs special prosecutor to fight Arpaio’s push to clear his record
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court approved the hiring of a special prosecutor to challenge former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's claim that his contempt of court conviction should be vacated after his presidential pardon, after the Justice Department said it sided with Arpaio.
Supreme Court voids law allowing deportation in ‘crimes of violence’
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court on Tuesday voided a federal law allowing deportation of immigrants who commit "crimes of violence" as unconstitutionally vague, a decision hailed by Arizona immigration lawyers as a "promising step forward."
Sheriffs wait to see details on Trump plan for soldiers on the border
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's announcement that he plans to send U.S. troops to patrol the border left southern Arizona sheriffs looking for details before committing to the "big step" that Trump said is needed until a border wall can be built.
Supreme Court reverses ruling against officer in Tucson police shooting
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court said Monday that a Tucson police officer cannot be sued for shooting a woman who refused to drop a knife as she stood in her driveway in 2010, with the justices taking the unusual step of reversing a lower court without holding a hearing on the case.
Pascua Yaqui lead shift in tribal courts’ handling of domestic violence
WASHINGTON - A five-year-old law that let Native American tribes prosecute non-Natives in domestic violence cases "has fundamentally changed the landscape of tribal criminal jurisdiction in the modern era," according to a new report.
Giffords joins lawmakers, students at Capitol March for Our Lives rally
WASHINGTON - Former Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords did not speak, but her presence was clearly felt at a news conference of Democratic lawmakers and students from around the country who were demanding tougher gun laws, a prelude to the national March For Our Lives after Parkland, Florida, school shooting.
Supreme Court rejects challenge to Arizona’s death penalty law
WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the way Arizona decides which criminals can be sentenced to death, a process critics say is so broad that virtually every convicted murderer is eligible for execution.
Legal language: Inmate’s coarse wording does not bar suit against cops
WASHINGTON - A federal appeals court Friday reinstated an Arizona inmate's excessive force lawsuit against the Phoenix Police Department, saying his allegation that officers "beat the crap out of" him is not unconstitutionally vague.
