The Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments was urged by several legislators to nix the application of a county commissioner they claim purposefully undermined a controversial initiative, but that advice had no bearing on the selection process to name eight new superior court judges in the county, commission members said.
Sens. Linda Gray, R-10, and Chuck Gray, R-19, and Rep. Russell Pearce, R-18, recommended that the 15-member body deny the applications of Sheila Madden, the county’s presiding initial appearance commissioner, and those of four other court officials.
Madden drew the lawmakers’ wrath for instructing the Maricopa County Superior Court’s Pretrial Services division to avoid asking defendants questions about their immigration status — a move the legislators interpreted as an effort to circumvent Prop. 100’s banning of setting bond for illegal immigrants accused of serious felonies.
Three members of the selection committee, including acting chairman Arizona Supreme Court Justice Michael Ryan, said commission members were not swayed by the lawmakers’ letter or Madden’s controversial order, but instead selected other applicants based on experience.
“Maybe her decision was the appropriate decision, but I’m still sympathetic to her,” said Debra Stark, a commission member who also serves as the planning director for the City of Phoenix.
Stark, who has served on the county trial court appointments commission for almost eight years, said, like Madden, her work has also been greatly affected a successful 2006 citizens initiative that greatly restrained local governments’ land use powers.
That initiative, Prop. 207, banned the use of eminent domain strictly for economic benefit and requires private property owners be compensated for all local government land use decisions that devalue property values.
“I probably make decisions that make people unhappy every week,” Stark said.
Letter questions whether applicants are ‘fit to become judges’
The lawmakers, in a July 13 letter, took great exception to Madden’s claim on her application to have “researched the law and began to develop a procedure for its implementation,” and instead accuse her disregarding voter intention.
“In direct contravention of the constitutional language approved by voters, Commissioner Madden formulated a policy that deliberately disregarded the issue of defendants’ immigration status for the purpose of setting bail,” the letter reads. “This policy was in direct violation of the law, but was corrected by the letter from the chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court once the media reported on it. Sheila Madden caused undue harm to victims.”
The legislators also questioned whether commissioners David Cunahan, Steven Lynch, Richard Nothwehr and Barbara Spencer were fit to become judges, citing a survey by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas that stated 94 percent of 699 illegal immigrants arrested in May subject to Prop. 100 were either offered bail or simply released.
According to an April press release by Maricopa County Superior Court Presiding Judge Barbara Rodriguez Mundell, Madden and Pre-Trial Services Director Penny Stinson performed a pre-election “nationwide inquiry of pre-trial interview procedures” and “made a good faith determination that the court’s staff should not ask questions that might incriminate defendants because the court must remain a neutral and impartial tribunal.”
J.W. Brown, the court’s spokeswoman, did not respond to phone calls from the Arizona Capitol Times.
During a July 18 meeting of the Maricopa County Commission on Trial Court Appointments, two people, including county family court judge Sherry Stephens, spoke in support of Madden.
Stephens did not address the legislators’ concern, but took exception with an ~Arizona Republic~ column that blasted the commissioner for her “don’t ask” Prop. 100 policy.
“Sheila had no intention of trying to thwart the will of the people or impose her own philosophy,” but was trying to implement court rules for Prop. 100, she said.
Though testimony on behalf of Madden was “compelling,” said Stark, the application process to become a judge is often long and complex, with applicants often putting in numerous requests before being selected.
And it is not uncommon for courtroom commissioners, like Madden, to raise more attention than private lawyers seeking a position on the bench due to the more high-profile nature of their jobs.
Of the 65 applicants to serve as county trial court judges, 25 were selected by the commission after the July 18 meeting for follow-up interviews in mid-August. Following interviews, the commission will recommend no less than three applicants for the eight existing vacancies to Gov. Janet Napolitano, who will select the new judges.