Aug. 3, 2010
The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider petitions by former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and two of his former top aides seeking to stop investigations into his ethics as an attorney.
The high court did not give reasons why it refused to accept jurisdiction of the petitions, which are called special actions. Chief Justice Rebecca White Berch and Justice Michael Ryan did not participate in the decision.
In March, Berch ordered an inquiry into Thomas' behavior after a Superior Court judge ruled that Thomas acted unethically in his prosecution of Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. The inquiry was prompted in part by the State Bar of Arizona, the semi-governmental agency that licenses and polices lawyers in the state.
The Bar asked that an outside investigator be appointed, and the court appointed Colorado attorney John Gleason.
The Arizona Supreme Court also appointed former Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Jones as the "probable cause panelist," a judge of sorts.
Since then, several other complaints have been lodged against Thomas with the state Bar, including one by an association of defense attorneys.
Two of Thomas' former top prosecutors, Rachel Alexander and Lisa Aubuchon, also are under investigation. Alexander has since left the office, and Aubuchon is suspended with pay pending an internal investigation at the County Attorney's Office.
Thomas, Alexander and Aubuchon asked Jones to dismiss the complaints. Jones refused. On July 1, they filed their petitions for special action.
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