Arizona Supreme Court Decisions 2024

Justia Opinion Summary: In January 2015, Ian Mitcham was arrested for DUI in Scottsdale, Arizona. He consented to a blood test to determine alcohol concentration or drug content, and two vials of blood were drawn. Mitcham was informed that the…

Justia Opinion Summary: A police officer from the City of Mesa, while driving his patrol car, was involved in a multi-vehicle accident that injured a bicyclist, Philip Rogers. Rogers claimed the officer's negligent driving caused the accident…

Justia Opinion Summary: Preston Strong was convicted of six counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Strong had a history of financial troubles and was friends with one of the victims, Luis Rios, who often loaned him money. An…

Justia Opinion Summary: David Francisco, a retired endodontist, sought treatment from Dr. Kevin Art of Affiliated Urologists, Ltd. in 2018. Dr. Art performed a urological procedure and prescribed the antibiotic Ciproflaxin (Cipro) without…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the appellant, Christopher Montoya, was convicted of first-degree murder, second-degree burglary, kidnapping, aggravated identity theft, unlawful use of means of transportation, theft, and two counts of…

Justia Opinion Summary: Marcos Martinez killed his grandmother and subsequently pleaded guilty except insane (GEI) to first-degree murder. Under his plea agreement, he was committed to the Arizona State Hospital and will remain under the…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2016, Bennett Laquan Williams was charged with fourteen felonies, including sex trafficking and various misdemeanors. The State alleged he was on probation and had seven prior felony convictions, including a 2004…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute over the constitutionality of "release time" provisions in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City of Phoenix and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2018, Kevin Moninger, a Nevada resident, posted classified ads on a website for sexual encounters. He received a response from "Sabrina," a fictional 13-year-old girl created by an undercover officer. Over several…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute between Pima County and the State of Arizona regarding the reimbursement of desegregation expenses. Following amendments to Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S.) § 15-910 in 2018, the State ceased…

Justia Opinion Summary: Mesquite Power, LLC owns the Mesquite Power Plant, which operates under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) guaranteeing specific electrical capacity to buyers in exchange for fixed payments. For the 2019 tax year, the…

Justia Opinion Summary: A commercial automobile liability insurance policy dispute arose from an accident at the Ina Pit Mine in Pima, Arizona, operated by Staker & Parson Companies ("Staker"). Staker had a Haul and Materials Agreement with BDR…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the San Carlos Apache Tribe's challenge to the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality's (ADEQ) issuance of a 2017 Permit Renewal to Resolution Copper Mining, LLC (Resolution) for the discharge of…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves Sherold D. Roaf, who was rear-ended by Francisco Ortiz, an employee of Medstar. Roaf sued Ortiz for negligence and Medstar for both vicarious liability for Ortiz's negligent driving and direct liability…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Kevin Dunbar, who was convicted of multiple felonies. Dunbar requested to represent himself during the final stages of his resentencing, but the trial court denied his request. Dunbar appealed…

Justia Opinion Summary: This case involves a dispute over jurisdiction in a divorce proceeding between Maria Del Carmen Rendon Quijada and Julian Javier Pimienta Dominguez. The couple, originally from Mexico, moved to the U.S. in 2007. Pimienta…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around the issue of whether reimbursements paid to a hotel for a loyalty program member’s complimentary stay constitute gross income for purposes of Arizona’s transaction privilege tax (TPT). The hotel…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves a dispute between investigative journalist Amy Silverman and the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES). Silverman requested access to records maintained by the Adult Protective Services (APS),…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Manuel Perez-Gutierrez, who was convicted on eight counts of sexual conduct with a minor. The trial court sentenced Perez-Gutierrez to two twenty-year terms of imprisonment for the first two…

Justia Opinion Summary: Larry Dean Anderson was convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of release for twenty-five years. Anderson filed a post-conviction relief (PCR)…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case involves the Arizona Republican Party (ARP) and its attorneys, who challenged the manner in which Maricopa County election officials conducted a mandatory hand count of ballots following the 2020 general…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around Tamira Durand, who was indicted for several fraud-related offenses, including illegally obtaining a credit card in the name of Scott Blum, a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of the State of Arizona considered whether the Arizona Legislature repealed or otherwise restricted A.R.S. § 13-3603 by enacting the abortion statutes in Title 36, specifically A.R.S. § 36-2322, which…

Justia Opinion Summary: The case revolves around a dispute over insurance coverage following a fatal jet ski accident. The owner of A.C. Watercraft Rental, Sayed Mohammed, had sought liability insurance for all his business-owned watercraft…

Justia Opinion Summary: In Arizona, condominium unit owners Jie Cao and Haining Xia challenged the forced sale of their unit by their condominium association (the “Association”) following the dissolution of the condominium. The Association,…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Arizona was asked to clarify whether Proposition 209, a voter initiative, repealed or affected the validity of a particular portion of the Arizona Revised Statutes (A.R.S. §…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Steven and Mary Drummond, who resided in their 2017 Tiffin Allegro motor home, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy and claimed that their motor home was subject to the homestead exemption as a "mobile home"…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of the State of Arizona addressed two key issues related to the City of Scottsdale's decision not to award a license to operate competitive youth swimming programs at its public aquatic…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, Pedro Barriga, an auto detailer at Precision Auto Body, LLC, quit his job due to a dispute with a coworker over the placement of a cooling fan and a perceived favoritism shown by his supervisor towards his…

Justia Opinion Summary: In 2011, Daniel Santillanes was convicted of a felony charge for facilitating the sale or transportation of marijuana in Arizona. In 2020, Arizona voters passed Proposition 207, which permitted the expungement of certain…

Justia Opinion Summary: The Supreme Court of Arizona reviewed a case involving Jose Agundez-Martinez, who was prosecuted as an adult for sexual assault and child molestation offenses he committed as a child between the ages of ten and twelve.…

Justia Opinion Summary: In this case, the Supreme Court of Arizona affirmed a lower court's decision involving a dispute over a 135 square foot piece of land between two neighboring property owners, the Becks and the Nevilles. The Becks had…