We’re back with our monthly newsletter after ending 2022 with our focus firmly on all that The People’s Office accomplished over the past year, resulting in the release of our annual report to the residents of Pima County – the Year Two Review.
While it would be a major challenge to include everything that’s gone on at the Pima County Attorney’s Office over the previous 12 months, we think the publication provides insight into the many facets of the office, including a strong focus on the work of our Civil Unit.
It’s that unit that separates a County Attorney’s Office like ours from a more traditional District Attorney’s Office, which focuses primarily on prosecuting crimes.
Our Criminal Unit represents the people and the state in all felony crimes committed in Pima County as well as misdemeanors that are committed outside of incorporated communities.
But the Civil Unit represents Pima County and its many departments – including the Board of Supervisors – while also doing the often-unheralded work that protects the rights of property owners, voters, taxpayers, businesses, and citizens in general in myriad ways.
The 24-page report, filled with information and photos, can be found on the PCAO website, or by clicking here. Hard copies also are available at the Legal Services Building at 32 N. Stone Avenue in downtown Tucson.
The start of 2023 saw the election of a host of new faces to statewide offices and the start of a new legislative session at the State Capitol on Phoenix.
As newly elected Gov. Katie Hobbs and the 56th Legislature get started on the people’s business, your County Attorney is right there in support of numerous bills that affect the health and safety needs of Pima County residents.
Among the bills that have our attention are:
Other legislative initiatives we support include continued efforts toward cash bail reform and a “Red Flag Law” that allows for temporary prohibition of gun possession in situations where access to guns presents the likelihood of self-harm or harming others.
Stay tuned as we work with lawmakers on these and more vital public safety reforms.
Tucsonans didn’t allow a cold and wet Monday in mid-January to deter them from taking part in the annual Martin Luther King Day March, and your County Attorney was right there with them for her 23rd year of marching. KGUN 9 News was as well with this report. Dr. King continues to serve as an inspiration throughout every year to work hard toward a more just and equitable community. It is a privilege to be in a position to play a powerful part in this noble pursuit.
Beginning February 1, the Pima County Attorney’s Office will begin taking applications for Anti-Racketeering Revolving Funds that can be used for programs and initiatives that support crime prevention in our county.
This fund, which uses cash and property obtained through criminal activity and seized by law enforcement, offers up to $5,000 per application. The first cycle of applications will be taken until March 15.
For more information, please contact Sofia Blue, Community Outreach Coordinator at 520-724-5610 or by going to ARFRequest@pcao.pima.gov.
In a high-profile case involving a fatal shooting by a police officer, a second grand jury handed down a ‘no-bill” decision, leading PCAO to dismiss without prejudice a prior grand jury indictment for manslaughter.
The grand jury decision and PCAO’s action in court leaves open the option of returning to the Grand Jury which is available under the law and by custom here in Pima County, not unlike returning to a jury trial after a hung jury.
While our focus in the case has been on the rights of the victim’s sister, our office continues to review the case for potential next steps.
On the last day in January, it was a real honor for Laura to be asked to be the keynote for the Pima County Bar Association’s opening monthly meeting and Continuing Legal Education luncheon. It was a chance for her to thank over 100 attorneys in the room for doing a difficult and noble job in the most challenging of times. And she did a little recruiting while she was there, inviting them to consider the People’s Office. But we need more than lawyers to cover all that we do here at PCAO, so if you are interested in being part of what we do, please visit us at www.pcao.pima.gov to explore opportunities.
Stay tuned.
The PCAO Community Newsletter is published and distributed monthly.
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