Recently in Defense and Process Category

With the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ruling that police tracking of a suspect with GPS is a search, the Glendale Police Department has come under scrutiny for allegedly engaging in the practice.

The Glendale Police Department is accused of attaching GPS tracking devices to cars without a warrant in order to follow the movements of Jerice Hunter, the mother of missing 5-year-old Jhessye Shockley, according to ABC15 News.

Immediately after a February altercation on a Phoenix freeway, Aubry Ballard’s then-boyfriend, former state Senator Scott Bundgaard was able to avoid arrest because of a little-know principle called legislative immunity. Ballard, on the other hand, was arrested on suspicion of misdemeanor assault.

Examples like the situation with Bundgaard have led a state lawmaker to introduce legislation repealing legislative immunity, reports the Associated Press.

When charged with a crime, every defendant has certain rights and allowances under the law. One of those allowances includes the right to an initial appeal of any criminal conviction and the representation of counsel, regardless of whether or not you can afford an attorney.

Take, for example, the case of “spiritual” leader James Ray, who was found guilty of negligent homicide for the deaths of three people during a sweat lodge ceremony.

Another month, another Sheriff-Joe-Arpaio-in-legal-hot-water report.

This time it's the feds who are accusing Sheriff Joe of breaking the law. The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division has concluded its investigation of the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and reportedly found that Sheriff Joe and his office violated several civil rights laws, reports CNN.

To your children, Santa Claus is the big man who decides which little boys and girls have been naughty or nice. However, it’s the duty of employers of mall Santas to make sure they haven’t done anything naughty before meeting your children.

Background checks are typically an important hiring tool that helps employers hire the best applicant and fend off future lawsuits. It’s especially important to conduct a background check on anyone whose job requires contact with children, even if it’s Santa Claus or his elves.

At minimum, the employer of a Santa Claus impersonator should conduct a criminal background check in all counties where he has lived and a Sex Offender Registry, according to Toolbox.com.

Holiday giving is starting early this year courtesy of the Phoenix Police Department. Through operation "New Opportunity Warrant Clear Up" (Project NOWcU), suspects who have outstanding misdemeanor warrants out for their arrests can take care of them this week without additional consequences, reports azfamily.com.

Run in partnership with the Phoenix Municipal Court from Dec. 5-9, the program offers you the chance to: "Clear your warrant. Clear your conscience. Clear your mind."

For local businesses, the holiday season means more customers, longer hours, and the increased threat of shoplifters. But petty thieves beware: store owners are turning to the Internet to help track you down. Frustrated Tucson retailers, for example, have gone on the offensive against would-be thieves and have taken to social media sites like Facebook to assist in their capture, reports the Associated Press.

Industrious retailers have begun posting photos of suspected shoplifters in the hope that someone will recognize them.

Boutique-owner Lauren Baker began posting still photos from surveillance videos in one of her store’s Facebook albums called the “Wall of Shame,” according to The Republic.

It’s been more than four years since a University of Florida student gained infamy with four immortal words: “Don’t tase me, bro!” before being tasered by university police. Yet, the controversy over allegedly Taser-happy police lives on.

A new study on police overuse of Tasers and news media reports investigating the stun gun’s use are keeping Scottsdale’s TASER International Inc. under the spotlight, reports CBS News.

A recently-released National Institute of Justice study found that some police are resorting to their Tasers to subdue suspects “way too fast.” The report spurred investigations by news programs “60 Minutes” and “Nightline” into the use of the stun guns by officers.

If you know someone who has been arrested for a crime, the next steps are fairly standard: booking, bail determination, and if he or she qualifies, posting bail. There are many right ways to help a friend post bail, but there's one very wrong way to do it - committing a crime to help pay for it.

As unbelievable as the motive sounds, police say they arrested a Prescott Valley man for allegedly robbing and assaulting two men for the money to bail his friend out of jail, reports ABC15 News.

Both victims and witnesses report that 31-year-old Brandon Abraham physically assaulted and attempted to rob them of $600 in cash and valuables. However, Prescott Valley police responded in time to catch the suspect. The police report stated that Abraham needed the money and items for bail for his friend.

Scary shouldn't mean unsafe this Halloween. Keeping a few Halloween safety tips in mind will ensure that the only potential harm your trick-or-treater will face is a stomach-ache after consuming so much candy.

There are basic safety tips that children should know regardless of the holiday: always travel on sidewalks and paths not streets; cross at street corners and crosswalks; and never enter a stranger's home.

But there are also Halloween-specific safety tips Valley parents should teach their children before going out, such as: bring a flashlight in case there aren't streetlamps; never trick-or-treat alone; and wait for an adult to inspect all candy before eating.