Whew! Few days are more representative of quintessential Arizona legal politics than today.
Today was going to be all about the Chief Justice’s State of the Judiciary speech. That was to be delivered at the Legislature, and would be followed by posting the complete report on the Court’s spanking-new Web site (http://www.azcourts.gov/).
But after the speech by Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch, there were the inevitable questions, and one just had to be on the matters regarding Maricopa County Andrew Thomas. What about this new Special Counsel who had been named, Scott Rhodes? someone asked. Hadn’t Mr. Thomas complained that Rhodes, too, had conflicts and should be de-selected?
You may recall that Scott Rhodes, an attorney at Jennings, Strouss & Salmon, had been named independent counsel only about a week and a half before. His selection had followed the State Bar’s request to the Chief Justice that she might consider naming an independent counsel. The Bar said it believed it could do its job fairly, but the appearance of a conflict might undermine the process, so how about naming someone who does not work at the Bar?
C.J. Berch agreed, and that’s when she named Rhodes.
But all good things must come to an end. The Chief replied to today’s questioner that Rhodes had decided to withdraw from the position. So now the Court will have to name someone else—someone somewhere in Arizona who knows a lot about the Ethical Rules, but has never had any significant interaction with the County Attorney, the County Sheriff, or the County Supervisors. Tough one, that.
Later in the day, the Court’s Chief Communications Officer, Jennifer Liewer, sent the media a statement from the Court on this newest Andrew Thomas development (see below). The Court recognized it had to address the story, so it did, head on.
And the “State of the Judiciary,” a well-written document that will guide Arizona courts for the coming year? It was an attachment.
That was a tough communications day for the Arizona Supreme Court.
Here is the Court’s statement:
“Statement from the Arizona Supreme Court regarding appointment of Scott Rhodes as independent counsel to review allegations of misconduct against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas
“The Chief Justice selected Scott Rhodes to investigate allegations of ethical misconduct by Mr. Thomas, because Mr. Rhodes is a well-respected and knowledgeable expert in the field of attorney discipline. The Chief Justice believes Mr. Rhodes would have conducted a fair and unbiased investigation. However, after a meeting recently convened by Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch with Mr. Rhodes and legal counsel representing County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Mr. Rhodes chose to withdraw as special counsel because of the objections raised to his appointment and to avoid those objections becoming a distraction to the investigation.
“Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch states, “I respect Mr. Rhodes’ decision to withdraw and will appoint a different individual to look into the allegations against Mr. Thomas.””