Alexander Barouch

By Michael O’Neill. Grant Woods passed away on October 23, 2021. I first learned of his passing when my professor, 9th Circuit Judge Andrew Hurwitz took a moment at the end of class to reflect on Grant’s legacy. Judge Hurwitz knew Grant professionally for many years but also played on a softball team with him up until the week of his passing. Grant Woods was a father, an avid baseball fan, an amateur playwright, a musician, and a lawyer. A long-time Republican who served as a chief of staff to John McCain, Grant was quick to disavow the party as soon as Donald Trump won the primary prior to the 2016 election. He was a key participant in reaching the largest civil settlement in history against the big tobacco companies…

By Oscar Porter. February 2022: Phoenix Police ambushed and shot. Several law enforcement officers were ambushed in South Phoenix last month, continuing a trend of violence against police that stretches back almost two years. The ambush occurred during an attempt to rescue a young woman and her one-month-old baby. A total of five officers were shot and nine officers were wounded. The gunman barricaded himself inside a home, and shot at the officers when they came close to the house. Police said the woman died of her wounds, and the shooter committed suicide after a standoff. While none of those officers were killed in the ambush, six officers have been fatally shot in the line of duty since the beginning of this year. Mayor Kate Gallego couldn’t “recall an incident…

By Alicia Curti. Most consumers in the United States own a cell phone and use it regularly for various purposes, including location and navigation services. Among the most popular cell phones are Google’s Android devices. Some more tech savvy consumers, if they want to be cautious or desire privacy, may know that they can disable the location history feature to limit location tracking. But do consumers know that their location is still tracked and stored in their Google account even when this feature is disabled? Should companies like Google be required to disclose this to consumers? If they do not disclose it, should companies be held liable for data privacy violations? The Attorneys General of several states have filed suit against Google on these grounds. Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich…

By Kelsey Weinman. On January 24, 2022, the Supreme Court granted certiorari on two cases challenging affirmative action in college admissions: Students for Fair Admissions v. President and Fellows of Harvard and Students for Fair Admissions v. University of North Carolina. The Supreme Court has previously held that universities may use race in determining admissions, but petitioners are asking the court to reconsider. Legal History of Affirmative Action in College Admissions Affirmative action refers to policies that aim to increase representation of minority groups such as women and people of color. As part of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, colleges began considering race as a factor in admissions in order to increase student diversity. White students were quick to call for a prohibition on racial considerations, but the…

By Avery Cartwright. Sarah Palin, former governor of Alaska and 2008 vice presidential candidate, filed suit against The New York Times in federal court after the Times published a 2017 editorial that erroneously connected her to the January 2011 mass shooting near Tucson, Arizona. Although the jury dismissed the case in early February 2022, Palin indicated that she plans to seek a new trial because of procedural issues in the case. Her lawsuit could challenge long-standing precedent regarding freedom of the press. The New York Times v. Sullivan Standard In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court decided New York Times v. Sullivan, a landmark case for freedom of speech in news reporting. In Sullivan, the Times was sued after it ran an advertisement criticizing the city of Montgomery’s police department. Although…

By Spencer Shockness. It goes without saying that the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the world in a variety of ways. For Arizona courts, the pandemic and the shut-downs accelerated the already existing backlog of cases. In response, Arizona courts made efforts to remedy the backlog, including hosting virtual hearings. A year ago, the Arizona Administrative Office of the Courts implemented a cloud-based digital evidence platform created by Thomson Reuters to reduce the need for a paper-based system. However, in 2022 the courts are still falling behind. For example, the Pinal and Coconino Counties sought to hire additional judges just last month to help with the backlog of cases. In an attempt to catch up on delayed cases, the Coconino County Superior Court has scheduled more than 60 jury trials for…

By Emilio Giuliani III. As a young child in elementary school, only a few years ago, I remember when a teacher asked my class what kind of exciting marvels the future might bring. The predictions ranged from self-driving robot cars and ultra-intelligent computers to new armed conflict with Russia and the Minnesota Vikings winning their first ever Super Bowl. Thanks to artificial intelligence and the unrelenting aggression of Vladimir Putin, three out of four of these have already come to fruition, and maybe next year will bring a Vikings victory. Above all when it comes to today’s modern technology, legal statutes and regulations have struggled at times to keep pace. This is unsurprising when the vast majority of lawmakers were born before the invention of the CD player, and we…

By Dewey Warner. By a 5–4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order on February 7 granting an application for a stay in Merrill v. Milligan. The Alabama case is the first challenge to a congressional map to reach the Court during the latest round of redistricting following the 2020 census. The case is a consolidation of multiple lawsuits brought against the state by voters, community organizations, and civil rights groups such as the Alabama chapter of the NAACP. The plaintiffs allege that Alabama’s new congressional map dilutes the votes of Black Alabamians by placing too many Black voters into a single district in violation of the Voting Rights Act. In January, a District Court panel agreed, striking down the map and ordering that a new one be drawn.…

By Savannah Wix.Drug and human trafficking across the Mexican border have long been major concerns for Arizonans. For instance, in December 2021, Scottsdale Police and the DEA seized $9 million worth of fentanyl pills and ten kilograms of powdered fentanyl, the trafficking of which was attributed to the notorious Mexican Sinaloa cartel. Although other illegal drugs enter Arizona’s border, counterfeit pills containing lethal doses of fentanyl in particular pose major concerns for citizens’ welfare, especially since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as overdose rates skyrocket. Cartels and gangs also profit greatly from human smuggling into Arizona, reportedly earning more than $14 million each day in February 2021. The Attorney General’s office claims that such drug and human trafficking propogate violence along the border.As a result, and in response to…

By Zachary Levy. Bankruptcy serves to provide a “fresh start” to individuals facing financial hardship. However, for those facing claims by multiple creditors for excessive debts, this new beginning might also mean “ground zero.” To avoid this result and protect a debtor’s equity in certain types of assets from creditors, legislators established bankruptcy exemptions. One prominent exemption—the homestead exemption—protects a certain amount of equity in an eligible debtor’s home. Homestead exemptions vary widely from state to state, and effective December 31, 2021, new legislation in Arizona drastically changed the state’s exemption. Arizona House Bill 2617 (AZ HB 2617) makes multiple amendments to statutes regarding judgment liens and the homestead exemption. The question remains—what effects will this change really have on debtors and creditors? History of Arizona’s Homestead Exemption Prior to…