Category: Arizona State Law Journal Blog

By Jack Cahill. Prospective homebuyers witnessed a surge in home prices over the last several years, particularly here in Phoenix. While this unprecedented trend is slowing down thanks to growth in inventory and lower interest rates, this newfound market stability could…

By Rosie McCormack.  Every American middle schooler learns that, in our three-branch government, the legislature makes the laws. Few people may know, though, that Arizona’s Constitution grants ordinary citizens lawmaking power too. Article IV, part 1, section 1 of the…

By Emma Smith.  On September 20, 2023, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge issued a final judgment in Brown v. City of Phoenix, holding that a Phoenix homeless encampment—known as The Zone—was a public nuisance. This ruling imposed a duty…

By Jesse Cresap. In Arizona, utilities and their regulators disagree over who controls and profits from excess space on utility infrastructure. The Arizona Corporation Commission’s Utility Division Staff asserts authority over the unused space on utility infrastructure and whether cellular antennas…

By Helen Hitz. Opinion: Arizona needs to enact an exception to the felony-murder rule in cases where the individual killed was an accomplice of the individual charged with murder. The addition of just six words to Arizona’s first-degree murder statute would…

By Sam Curry. In late September 2023, the Supreme Court granted review in a criminal case originating in Yuma, AZ. The case implicates the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment, which gives criminal defendants the right to cross-examine witnesses who make…

By McKenna Hunter. The Transfer In 2018, the Town of Queen Creek, AZ was groundwater-dependent; it recognized that its complete reliance on groundwater was insufficient to allow for growth. To diversify the town’s water portfolio, part of the town’s plan included purchasing…

By Victoria Warkins.  Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Dr. Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz, a biology professor at CalTech and University of Cambridge, introduced her team’s development of the first “synthetic” human embryo in June of this year. Scientists created the synthetic embryo…