Pima County Attorney

The People's Office

Serving the residents of Tucson & surrounding communities across southern Arizona.

Love of Reading Week with Pima County Attorney Laura Conover

Pima County Attorney Laura Conover reads “All Are Welcome” by Alexandra Penfold and Suzanne Kaufman.

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Pima County Attorney's Office To Remain Closed Until After MLK Holiday

January 12, 2021

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COVID Outbreak Forces PCAO Staff to Telecommute until Wednesday

January 10, 2021

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New Pima County Attorney Laura Conover Begins Tenure with Slate of Reforms

January 4, 2021

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Pima County Attorney-elect Conover Addresses Staff, Introduces Leadership Team

December 17, 2020

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As we honor #BlackHistoryMonth, we continue to dis

As we honor #BlackHistoryMonth, we continue to discover residents across Pima County making history in 2021 and working hard to make this a stronger, safer community.

The legacy of the Buffalo Soldiers, the all-Black US Army cavalry regiments assembled in the post-Civil War era, invites difficult conversations about our history. More space for such conversations, in the form of Tucson’s first memorial to the Buffalo Soldiers, is going up at the Quincie Douglas Library (36th St. & Kino) later this year thanks to the collaborative efforts of Tucson Parks and Recreation (TPR), Tucson City Council Member Richard Fimbres & the Greater Southern Arizona Area Chapter (GSAAC) of the 9th & 10th Cavalry.

“We hope that this memorial project effort, and the history that will be presented, will start a dialogue about what these brave soldiers dealt with and endured in establishing and growing this country in the Southwest and West after the Civil War,” Jon Covington, secretary of the GSAAC, told us earlier this month. “It’s not an easy story to tell, but we're trying in a good way.”

Having broken ground on the memorial in October, the monument that is the memorial’s focal point is still being fabricated in Georgia, according to Covington, who added that he expects the monument to arrive in Tucson sometime in April.

“There are many voices, efforts and initiatives today, as in previous decades, seeking to develop a more fair system of justice that everyone can agree on, not only for Blacks, but for everyone living in Tucson and Pima County,” Covington said. “Unfortunately, this new century continues to present some of the ‘age-old’ injustices we've lived with since the end of slavery. It’s a big challenge, but we must continue our efforts.”

#BHM
#BuffaloSoldiers
#ThisIsTucson

(From left: Jerry Neely of TPR; GSAAC President Sam Freeman, Jr.; GSAAC Secretary Jon Covington; and GSAAC Memorial Co-Chair Lee Easter, Jr.)

📸 by Colin Wolff

Justice in Pima County: Week 7 #FromLaura This we

Justice in Pima County: Week 7
#FromLaura

This week truly proved the old adage that taking a day off in the legal system in honor of a holiday will only serve up an avalanche packed into the remaining 4 days.

This week was very much victim-centric. We had meetings w/ experts from across S. Arizona who serve survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence & abuse in the home. In the strife of Covid, unemployment & evictions, we're taking every step we can to remain a strong partner to those serving our most vulnerable.

I held a meeting w/ State Sen. Victoria Steele & victims’ rights advocate Kat Stratford on the wealth of services available to survivors of sexual assault who receive immediate law enforcement intervention as opposed to the isolating journey a survivor must traverse if their report comes later in time. There's a clear need to lift up the services of the S. Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault & other agencies where you can walk in the door and receive immediate help. That includes the incredible people who work w/in our own Victim Services division, who filmed a PSA this week in service to those survivors of SA who await answers from their medical forensic exams.

In other news:

• I had my 1st meeting w/ Tucson PD’s Mental Health Support Team (MHST) & Dr. Margie Balfour, medical director of the Crisis Response Center. They were made to wait their turn patiently because, as you might know, my brother Sgt. Jason Winsky founded the MHST many yrs ago for TPD. This team has been co-responding to 911 calls w/ medical, behavioral & social-work professionals since 2013. There's a clear need to highlight when the Crisis Response Line (520-622-6000) or when 911 should be called instead.

· On a high note, I spent the past 2 days reviewing the new law students beating down our door for a law clerk position, new attorneys eager to learn here & attorneys out in the community looking to join our effort. The reform we are undertaking here at PCAO is not easy. To see these talented, quality, sincere professionals knocking on the door and asking to sign up is a fantastic affirmation of the changes we’re making.

#ToBeContinued,
Laura

📸 by Colin Wolff

We took an opportunity to get outside and help out

We took an opportunity to get outside and help out our friends at Trees for Tucson this morning, joined by VisionQuest and others, to plant 42 trees throughout the Sunnyside Neighborhood.

Laura and her family, along with Chief Deputy Tamara Mulembo and Community Outreach Coordinator Patrick Robles, broke through the caliche to plant a variety of native and non-native species, including ironwoods, desert willows, velvet mesquites and a red push pistache. Trees for Tucson hopes to increase the city's shade canopy at least 15% by 2030. To volunteer your efforts, click the link in our bio.

Thanks so much to Katie, Paige, Joely & all who worked so hard and so warmly welcomed us today.

📸 by Patrick Robles & Joe Watson

Justice in Pima County: Weeks 5 & 6 #FromLaura So

Justice in Pima County: Weeks 5 & 6 #FromLaura

Some weeks are busier than others. Here’s what’s happened since my last review.

- We’re slowly moving employees back to the LSB. Even I made the cut & am back downtown! After an alarming outbreak in our 1st 2 weeks of the new admin, all those infected seem to be recovering positively & I’m committed to doing my very darndest to not lose a single employee.

- Observation of Initial Appearances has resumed & we now have a Cash Bail working group inside PCAO w/ stakeholder groups helping from the outside to give this issue the attn it deserves. A full divorce from $$ at detention hearings will require legislative change & we’re looking @ model legislation. Meanwhile, we will have to rely on high $$ bonds to hold those individuals where evidence demonstrates an ongoing threat to the safety of our community. But as for low $$ bonds, we are working w/ the IA Judges, Pre-Trial Services & our legal partners to set up a new structure of representation for misdemeanors & for arguing for conditions of release when no threat to the community is present.

- Our Conviction & Sentence Integrity Unit (CSIU) is open for business & cases for review are already arriving. We hope that, by summer, we’ll have law students, interns, clerks & attorneys getting a chance to work w/ nationally renowned Professor Jack Chin, CSIU Chief & PCAO Senior Counsel, on this crucial work.

- We are working on ways to keep even serious cases in the juvenile justice system & we’re taking a deep look @ both Teen Court and the CJBs. I had meetings w/ sr administrators in Juv. Court & I met with Cty Sup. Grijalva & TUSD Board Member Shaw to stay on top of our children’s needs. want to think broadly about how to best treat children charged w/ serious offenses and how best to keep kids from ever landing in the system at all. & some of that is just about showing up. My son & I have very much missed our weekly “big kid” reading nights @ Pueblo Gardens since school has been virtual, so we were thrilled to be invited to Zoom into classrooms across the County for Love of Reading Week. Extra 🙏🏼 to Tony Gallego for filming on the grass!

#ToBeContinued
Laura

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