Prop. 100 execution hits snag with justice's order


By Gary Grado, Tribune
East Valley Tribune
April 4
Arizona's chief Supreme Court justice on Tuesday ordered that a judge must hold a special hearing to determine whether someone falls under Proposition 100, the voter-approved measure that denies bail for illegal immigrants accused of high-level felonies. Chief Justice Ruth V. Mc-Gregor made the order in response to "some inconsistencies and confusion about the application" of the law that was passed overwhelmingly in November.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Rep. Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, who authored the legislation, accused Maricopa County Superior Court of intentionally circumventing the law, citing a pair of memos directing court workers not to ask about or report on a person's citizenship.

"The courts clearly have not undertaken any systematic effort to thwart implementation," McGregor wrote in a letter to lawmakers Tuesday. "We have, however, identified some issues within the courts that I am taking steps to correct."

McGregor's order requires police and prosecutors to provide the court with a "detailed explanation of the facts that cause an officer to believe that the defendant is in the country illegally."

McGregor also concluded that employees with Pretrial Services, which conducts interviews and criminal background checks on people booked into jail, may ask about citizenship.

Penny Stinson, Pretrial Services director, sent her staff emails Nov. 17 and March 19 directing them to not ask about citizenship or record it on paperwork. Presiding Judge Barbara Rodriguez Mundell said Tuesday she was still working on getting to the bottom of Stinson's e-mails.

McGregor's letter and order represent "an important victory for democracy and the Constitution," Thomas said.

Under McGregor's order, the court has to have an evidentiary hearing to determine whether a criminal suspect falls under Prop. 100 within 24 hours of arrest, and the defendant can be held in jail during that period.

McGregor also addressed the case of Ruben Perez Rivera, who police are looking to arrest in connection with the fatal stabbing of his cousin, Theodore Cruz Perez, 23.

Perez, who should have been in jail under Prop. 100 at the time of the March 27 killing, was released after being accused of kidnapping and misdemeanor assault and then charged again within hours on March 15, but the jail did not get information of his new indictment until after he'd been released March 16.

McGregor has directed presiding judges in each county to call summits with all of the various offices and agencies involved in processing cases "to define steps that each entity can take to help avoid similar problems in the future."

Mundell said she has also asked Attorney General Terry Goddard for a legal opinion on how Prop. 100 interacts with the right against self-incrimination, federal civil rights laws and whether the courts or police and prosecutors should be inquiring about citizenship.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17950568/