In an effort to reduce gun violence, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office is making some policy changes to hold criminals more accountable.

Arizona is about to become the first state in the nation to eliminate the ability of attorneys to strike prospective jurors based on what may only be hunches, a practice that often ends up culling minorities.

Police who patrol Arizona communities should focus on criminals, not cash. Current laws encourage the reverse, making everyone a potential ATM for cash-strapped agencies.

Sen. Eddie Farnsworth is blaming Attorney General Mark Brnovich for the failure of his legislation to preclude prosecutors from seizing property without first getting a criminal conviction.

In Arizona, without accurate and complete data, our criminal justice system is losing public trust, which prevents us from keeping people safe. SB 1171 would make our prosecutors’ offices more effective and improve public collaboration with our criminal justice system. SB 1171 has found support across the political spectrum because it would give lawmakers, prosecutors, and the public the information we all need to better serve justice.

A special committee wants to revamp Arizona's sex abuse laws to make it easier to prosecute some people who violate their position of trust with their youthful victims.

Arizona’s criminal justice system is not perfect. There is always room for improvement in any system, and I and other prosecutors remain willing to engage in productive discussions and initiatives to improve criminal justice system outcomes for crime victims, the public we serve, and defendants to reduce recidivism.

The prosecution function has come a long way in the last two decades across the country and here in Maricopa County.

Ultimately, we will never achieve meaningful sentencing reform in Arizona with both sides bashing the other and making “straw dog” arguments based on false mischaracterization of the other’s positions. Instead, we must take baby steps and then measure results as they inform public safety, in much the same way that the recently released APAAC report undertook its detailed and valuable account of recidivism in all categories of offenses. Knowing which categories of offenders recidivate least often can suggest sentencing reductions that are plausible and realistic.

A lingering “tough-on-crime” mentality in Arizona is hampering efforts to reconstruct the state’s criminal justice system.