Noel Fidel

Noel Fidel
Associate dean of students at the ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law and a former judge, has been chosen to receive the Public Service Award of the 2007 Judge Learned Hand Awards.
The American Jewish Committee created the Learned Hand Award in 1964 to honor the memory of a jurist many refer to as “the best judge never to become a Supreme Court Justice.” The award recognizes distinguished members of the Bar from across the nation for their adherence to the values and standards of excellence associated with Judge Learned Hand.
Fidel was chosen for his sustained contributions to the advancement of equality and democratic principles through his work in the non-profit and public sectors.
He worked for nine years with Langerman, Began & Lewis, the law firm that had helped in his earlier efforts on behalf of United Farm Workers, before becoming a Superior Court judge in 1982. Five years later, he moved to the Arizona Court of Appeals, where he served for 15 years, two as the chief judge.
Awards
• Sen. Carolyn Allen, R-8, was honored with the American Cancer Society’s 2006 Lawmaker of the Year Award, presented on Feb. 6 during the “One Voice Against Cancer” lobbying event at the Capitol.
The event featured more than 100 cancer survivors, caregivers, health care professionals and others who are concerned about the issue of cancer. Allen serves as Senate Health Committee chair, which addresses the health care needs of all Arizonans.
In 2005, she sponsored S1132, which created the Chronic Disease and Pain Management Task Force.
Appointments
• Fidelis V. Garcia, was appointed as permanent director of the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) by Gov. Janet Napolitano, a position held on an interim basis for the past year.
Prior to coming to the ROC in 2005, Garcia was a judicial officer for more than four years with the city of Phoenix Municipal Court, presiding over large and complex cases cited under Phoenix ordinances. Prior to that, he was a presiding judge on the Guadalupe Municipal Court for two years.
New Hires
• Daniel Pochoda has been hired by ACLU of Arizona as its new legal director. He has extensive public interest litigation experience, including race discrimination and voting rights cases over the past ten years.
From 1990 through 1996, he served as special master for the U.S. District Court in three cases involving constitutional challenges to conditions of confinement in the Arizona prison system. He was also adjunct professor in 2001 at the ASU School of Justice and Social Inquiry.
He also served as a cooperating attorney in the ACLU of Arizona’s racial profiling case challenging the discriminatory practice of race-based stops by the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and handled an ACLU case successfully challenging discriminatory same-sex visitation practices in the Arizona Department of Corrections.
He replaces Thalia Gonzalez, who moved to California in October.
Coalitions
• Peter Fine, president and CEO of Banner Health, was elected the new chairman of The Business Coalition, replacing outgoing chairman David Udall, a Mesa attorney.
The Business Coalition, a collaborative effort among 10 of Arizona’s business leadership organizations, aims to create an “internationally competitive, vital economy” for the state’s residents to live, work and play in.
Coalition members include: Arizona Association of Industries, Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry, East Valley Chamber of Commerce Alliance, East Valley Partnership, Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Phoenix Convention Center, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, Greater Phoenix Leadership, Southern Arizona Leadership Council and WESTMARC.