Arizona State Law Journal Blog

By Ashley Lin.The Supreme Court of the United States is hearing an Arizona death row prisoner’s appeal based on an Arizona Rule of Criminal Procedure. But the effects of the Justices’ decisions regarding this procedural rule could be unexpectedly profound and far-reaching.  John Montenegro Cruz was sentenced to death after being convicted of first-degree murder in 2005. However, during his sentencing, he was denied a due process right which the Supreme Court of the United States held in 2016 to be binding on Arizona. As a result, Cruz filed this petition for post-conviction relief, and the Supreme Court agreed this past March to hear his petition. Oral arguments were heard by the Court on November 1st, 2022.  Background In 2005, a jury in Pima County convicted Cruz of first-degree murder for shooting Patrick…

By Jackson Pittman.A Housing Market on FireRecent years have been chaotic for the housing market. All-time low mortgage interest rates and a relative shortage of homes resulted in widespread success for home sellers—and overwhelming frustration for buyers. Arizona has been a hotspot for the housing market and new residents. Despite relatively low population growth across the country, Phoenix and its surrounding localities have been some of the fastest growing areas in the US. To meet these demands, new residential building projects are going up everywhere across the state. Single-family home construction has jumped over 40% in both Phoenix and Tucson. Residential building permits hit a 16-year high in March of this year. If you want confirmation, just take a walk outside—within minutes you’ll likely run into the lifeless labyrinth of…

While the most recent court order in Arizona’s post-Roe abortion saga brings momentary clarity, the reproductive rights of Arizonans remains in flux. In 1864, prior to Arizona becoming a state, the Arizona territorial legislature codified a law banning almost all abortions with no exceptions for victims of incest or rape. This law was passed by a legislature made up entirely of men, at a time when women were not legally allowed to vote. Now, a century and a half later, this law might once again take effect. From 1864 to Now The pre-statehood abortion ban remained in effect in Arizona from 1864 until 1973, when the United States Supreme Court published their landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Shortly thereafter, an injunction was put in place that barred enforcement of the…

By Kaleigh Cober. Directions: Pour a Cup of Empty Hope onto an Already Simmering Pan of Inadequate Education In what seems like a losing battle towards Arizona improving its education, could the solution be to lower the standard for teachers and not require a bachelor’s degree? Through a series of attempts to bolster an influx of teachers in Arizona, including the 20x2020 plan and SB 1042, Governor Doug Ducey has been acknowledging the deeply-rooted education issues plaguing Arizona. In July, Governor Ducey passed SB 1159 as another attempt to fix Arizona’s debilitating teacher shortage that the state has been experiencing. Although many states are experiencing teacher shortages, SB 1159’s approach is a seemingly unorthodox one, in that it allows college students to take teaching jobs. SB 1159, which went into…

By Tyler Miller.Peremptory challenges have struck out! Arizona is the first state in the nation to eliminate peremptory challenges to prospective jury members. A peremptory challenge is an objection to a proposed juror that can be based on any reason that is not discriminatory. In contrast, cause challenges require the party opposing the juror to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the juror cannot render a fair and impartial verdict. As a result of the reform, cause challenges are now the only way to strike a juror. Civil rights activists have applauded the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision as crucial to ensuring due process and equal protection. Specifically, it protects a defendant’s right to a jury of his or her peers and a citizen’s right to sit on a…

By Reilly Cunnington. On July 5, 2022, the United States Department of Justice announced that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of Arizona. Specifically, the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice is challenging Arizona’s House Bill 2492 on the grounds that it violates Section 6 of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) as well as Section 101 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. HB 2492, enacted in March 2022, requires all Arizona voters to provide proof of United States citizenship for certain federal elections. With Arizona already on the forefront of the fight for voter rights, this lawsuit extends a long line of contentious issues. The Fallout of the 2020 Election in Arizona Following the 2020 presidential election, claims of voter fraud and conspiracy theories…

By Caitlin Brydges.The Fall of Roe and State Authority over Abortion Law Prior to the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade, upholding a constitutional right to abortion, Arizona law criminalized abortion unless it was necessary to save the mother’s life. The Roe decision declared this and similar state laws unconstitutional, and the law has been subject to an injunction preventing its enforcement ever since. However, this past June, the Supreme Court overturned Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Justice Alito, writing for the majority, held that there is no federally protected right to abortion, and accordingly, states have the authority to regulate reproductive healthcare.The fallout of Dobbs has left many healthcare providers to make difficult decisions about whether to provide abortions (and related healthcare services) and many Americans…

By William Scoville.Golf has long been synonymous with the state of Arizona. While courses have populated the Valley of the Sun since the early 20th century, the game’s first big boom in popularity occurred following the end of World War Two with the development of Sky Harbor International Airport and President Eisenhower’s interstate highway system. For the first time, Phoenix was something more than just a stopping point for families and travelers heading out west to the sunny beaches of California. As the game has continued to grow, so too has a concerted group of lobbyists who have taken issue with one of the game’s practices. While some might think that this group stands opposed to one of the traditional barriers surrounding the game, whether it be the game’s aristocratic…

By Ashley Hutton.The Bureau of Reclamation (“Reclamation”) released its highly anticipated report in June, which delivered devastating, but unsurprising, news: The southwest is running out of water. The report highlighted the trajectory of reservoir conditions of Lakes Mead and Powell, the two reservoirs connected to the greater Colorado River system, and the forecast is critical. It warned that if the rate of inflow remains the same through next year, the lakes will need an additional 2.5 million acre-feet to stay above 22% capacity. To put this into perspective, a single acre-foot of water is over 325,800 gallons, enough to supply two average households with water for one year.Water Levels at the LowestLake Mead is at its lowest since 1937, and Lake Powell fell below 1967 levels. Unfortunately for forty million…