Thread: Official: Keep citizenship off records

MONDAY APRIL 2, 2007 Last modified:
Sunday, April 1, 2007 10:36 PM PDT

Official: Keep citizenship off records


PHOENIX (AP) - A Maricopa County court official told staff to stop asking inmates for their immigration status despite a constitutional amendment that denies bail for illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes, according to a newspaper investigation.

Penny Stinson, a Superior Court pretrial services director, made the order Nov. 17, shortly before the amendment took effect.

‘‘Due to recent changes in the legislation and the liberty interest implications, we will no longer be asking defendants any questions regarding their citizenship,'' Stinson wrote in an e-mail obtained by the East Valley Tribune.

Stinson tagged the e-mail high importance and ‘‘EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY'' and sent it to 19 staff members. The message was copied to Commissioner Sheila Madden, whose job is to set bail for defendants in their first appearances before a judge.

In a second e-mail on March 19, Stinson reminded her staff of the directive and instructed them not to record any immigration information on paperwork.

‘‘Please remember that we do not ask defendants any questions regarding their citizenship,'' Stinson wrote.

This e-mail was circulated four days after a paperwork error led to the release of an illegal immigrant, Ruben Perez Rivera, who is now wanted in a fatal stabbing last week in Mesa. The court has come under fire in the Perez case and others in which illegal immigrants accused of serious crimes obtained bail and were eventually freed.

Presiding Judge Barbara Rodriguez Mundell said through a spokeswoman that she knew nothing about Stinsons directives. Court spokeswoman J.W. Brown said Mundell was unaware of any legal research done before Stinson sent her e-mails.

‘‘If the directive is not supported by the law, it will be corrected,'' Brown said.

Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, helped create Proposition 100, which led to the constitutional amendment. Pearce vowed to do whatever he can to force the courts to follow the law.

‘‘Were not going to roll over on this,'' he said.

Maricopa County Attorneys Office spokesman Barnett Lotstein said Perez should have been denied bail. Instead, a judge set bail at $10,000 after a grand jury indicted Perez on March 15.
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles ... state1.txt

As big as this story should be, check out the poor coverage in the Phoenix paper next.

County attorney: Inquire inmates' citizenship status
Michael Kiefer
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 2, 2007 03:27 PM

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas asked that an order asking court officials not to inquire about an inmates' citizenship status be rescinded immediately.

Penny Stinson,Superior Court's pretrial services director, made the order Nov. 17, 2006 shortly before a new law denying bail to undocumented immigrants who are accused of serious crimes took effect.

She wrote, "Due to recent changes in the legislation and the liberty interest implications, we will no longer be asking defendants any questions regarding their citizenship." She reiterated that policy in another memo on March 19.

Thomas asked Maricopa County Court's Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell to rescind that order, saying, "This directive by a senior court official is very troubling. The citizens of Arizona deserve a full account of what happened here, including whose idea it was to send out this instruction and which court officials were aware of it."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... 02-ON.html

In a second e-mail on March 19, Stinson reminded her staff of the directive and instructed them not to record any immigration information on paperwork.

FIRE HER!!!!

Get her the hell away from any court!

As my Husband said, "she should be arrested." She should be subject to whatever the penalty of Prop 100 mandated.

I will be glad when we win and people like this are dealt with!!

Wow! This story is big! The people in AZ are going to get so hot about this they may run her out of the state!

W

A judge again??? What is with them???
Unfreakin believable!
What the h... is going on?

She should be held responsible for the person that was stabbed, and be in jail without bail.

These judges have to be doing somebodys bidding. We need to clean house on the judges. Is there anyone that is suppose to being doing oversight on judges?? if not there should be and they should be held accountable for their bad decisions, and not following and implementing our laws. throw them out, fire them!!!

They should run her out of the state for aiding and abetting illegal aliens

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

Wow! This story is big! The people in AZ are going to get so hot about this they may run her out of the state!

W

I totally agree this story is big, but it is being surpressed by the media. If the above story is the extent of what the Phoenix paper, the Republic, will carry and the TV news doesn't mention it, or mentions it once, this story won't get out to the masses.