Tom Ryan has been called a political hack and an activist lawyer by those unhappy with the legal work he’s done in the political arena.

Attorneys for former Attorney General Tom Horne and a former aide urged the Arizona Court of Appeals to overturn a $400,000 fine for campaign finance violations on the grounds that Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk violated their due process rights by serving a dual role as both the decision-making in the enforcement action and the prosecutor in their court case.

A Democratic dark money group that ran $1.5 million in ads against Tom Horne in the waning days of the 2010 election must defend itself from accusations of contempt of court after refusing to comply with an order that it register with election officials and disclose its contributors.

Often, today’s political activism springs from yesterday’s upheavals, when a crisis alters the landscape and shapes the minds of a young generation. Such is the case with Tyler Montague, a banker from Mesa and now president of Public Integrity Alliance.

A group that went after former Attorney General Tom Horne is demanding that Corporation Commissioner Susan Bitter Smith quit her jobs outside the commission and stop any lobbying activities while she remains in office.

The former head of the state’s child safety agency said Monday it was Attorney General Mark Brnovich and not he who precipitated a February decision to stop allowing married gay couples to jointly adopt or become foster parents.

A four-year legal saga over campaign finance laws came to an end as the Arizona Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal from the Committee for Justice and Fairness, allowing an appellate court’s ruling against the group to stand.

Many of Tom Horne’s top staffers followed him out the door on Monday as newly inaugurated Attorney General Mark Brnovich cleared out remnants of his predecessor’s administration.

A rundown of the people and groups who ended 2014 on the upswing and those who are glad to see the year come to an end.

Attorney General Tom Horne says his loss in the Republican primary came about because he was targeted for defeat by the state’s largest circulation newspaper. Horne spoke about that, his accomplishments and disappointments in office, and what is next for him in a recent exit interview with the Arizona Capitol Times.