The Legislature can retroactively apply a 2006 law that shifted the burden of proof in self-defense claims from defendants to prosecutors, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.

An apologetic screening commission not only chose two new nominees for Arizona’s Independent Redistricting Commission on Jan. 21, but it also sought to satisfy Republican legislative leaders by choosing one from outside Maricopa County.

A former Arizona Supreme Court justice is urging current justices to decide whether three nominees for the state redistricting commission are eligible for appointment.

Kirk Adams begins his second term in the House’s top post with a host of challenges that range from a budget deficit of $825 million to getting a “jobs bill” through and the inevitable rancor birthright-citizenship legislation would bring, but much of his first week on the job was driven by the shooting in Tucson in which six were killed and 13 wounded, including U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

The matching funds lawsuit McComish v. Bennett will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, which in June rode roughshod over the Ninth Circuit's determination that the funds pass constitutional muster.

Probation officers who have sex with offenders they supervise, criminal defendants who fail to appear for court and the practice of tapping retired judges to serve on the bench are among the issues the state’s courts are considering for their 2011 legislative agenda. 

Another nominee with small-town roots, Johnsen, 57, grew up in what is now an Arizona ghost-town, Ray. The town was developed and abandoned by a mining company, and Johnsen graduated in a class of 100.

David Lujan lost the Democratic primary for attorney general by 2,427 votes, less than 1 percent of all ballots cast in the race.

If the pen is mightier than the sword, then Kris Kobach has been cutting a wide swath around the nation.

Arizona's public campaign finance commission on Thursday considers a housekeeping matter stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to block so-called matching funds.