Country Thunder hits high note with Underage Drinking
Each year thousands of country music fans flock to Florence, Arizona for the country music equivalent of Coachella: Country Thunder. While most people are there having a good time within the limits of the law the event is known for various acts of violence that come with gathering large groups of people together. This year the headline for illegal activities seems to have involved underage drinking with law enforcement officials reporting 189 arrests:
State liquor agents say 189 people were arrested for underage drinking-related crimes at this month’s Country Thunder music festival in Florence.
The four-day outdoor event drew the attention of Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control officers because underage drinking has been an ongoing problem at the event. Liquor control officers worked with state police to deploy between five and 20 officers at a time.
Liquor control Sgt. Wes Kuhl says many of the arrested underage drinkers had blood-alcohol levels more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
Those arrested were cited for being a minor in possession of alcohol, using a face ID to buy alcohol or furnishing alcohol to a minor.
The country music festival ran from April 12 through April 15.
via the Arizona Republic
For more information about Underage Drinking and various defenses click here.
Here are three cases in which the Law Offices of David Michael Cantor either had the case thrown out or reduced the charges to lesser offenses:
- DUI REDUCED to Reckless Driving – State v. Mr. M.
- DUI REDUCED to Reckless Driving – State v. Mr. H.
- Underage Drinking Dismissal
Did Ted Nugent threaten President Obama?
Recently Ted Nugent made a number of baffling comments starting with what appears to be a threat to President Obama. David gives a brief rundown of what was said by the aging rocker and then his thoughts on thinking before speaking:
What do you think?
Video: David Michael Cantor on Andrew Thomas Disbarment
Today we have a video of David’s reaction to Andrew Thomas’ Disbarment last week:
What do you think?
Andrew Thomas Disbarred!
Photo Credit Ray Stern/Phoenix New Times
This morning in a Phoenix Courtroom the decision that has been predicted for months on this blog finally became a reality: Andrew Peyton Thomas, former Maricopa County Attorney, was disbarred. Ending any doubts that Thomas misused the power of his office for launching attacks on his political opponents. At least for everyone except Thomas himself:
“Today, corruption has won and justice has lost,” [Andrew Thomas] said, according to the Arizona Republic. “The political witch hunt that’s just ended makes things worse by sending a chilling message to prosecutors: Those who take on the powerful will lose their livelihood.” via Arizona Republic
Isn’t the Nile a river in Africa? EJ Montini of the Arizona Republic was not impressed with Thomas’ play of the victim card, either.
You can read the entire Opinion here, its 240+ pages but has some nuggets worth reading. From the start this opinion wastes no time letting you know what they think of Mr. Thomas:
The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult. A truthful witness gives honest testimony, but a false witness tells lies. Proverbs 12:15–17.
I think we see where this is heading…
The opinion doesn’t let up at all and then finishes strong and unequivocally:
This is the story of three unethical attorneys, Andrew Thomas, Lisa Aubuchon, and to a lesser extent, Rachel Alexander. This is the story of County Attorneys who did not “let justice be done,” but rather, birthed injustice after injustice. This is the story of the public trust dishonored, desecrated, and defiled. This multi-year-wreck-of-a-ride, operated by Andrew Thomas and staffed by Aubuchon and Alexander, outrageously exploited power, flagrantly fostered fear, and disgracefully misused the law. By the time Andrew Thomas resigned, with his hopes of attaining higher public office and greater public trust, his legacy lay in a smoldering heap, its smoke slowly curling skyward like a prayer for relief.
This is not your typical legal opinion fare, this is the panel making a point: don’t go after judges unless you have facts to back it up.
If you are not familiar with this case we recommend checking out this Talking Points Memo post by Nick Martin.
Last but not least there is the Phoenix New Times who have covered this story in detail from the start. Considering Thomas had the papers owners locked up in 2007 their coverage should be no surprise. Paul Rubin has a nice write up today about some heros emerging from the Maricopa County Sheriffs Office.
Of course Thomas et all have 10 days to file an appeal which we are sure they will, stay tuned.
Here is a list of out posts covering this ordeal:
- Former Maricopa Prosecutor Lisa Aubuchon Pleads her Case
- Andrew Thomas Warned by Staff Not to Pursue Charges
- Andrew Thomas shows lack of Law Knowledge
- Cleaning up Thomas’ Mess: Rose Wilcox Case Dismissed
- Did Andrew Thomas use RICO funds illegally?
- Update on Andrew Thomas Disbarment Hearing
Maricopa Sheriff in the Hot Seat Again
Sheriff Joe
The Sheriff is not a stranger to controversy during his time as lead of Maricopa County’s law enforcement. The highly criticized Sheriff recently made news again in March when he claimed that President Obama’s birth certificate was a forgery.
Prosecutors behaving badly
Interesting story on the wires today:
Although courts have confirmed that prosecutorial misconduct occurred in 91 Texas criminal cases between 2004 and 2008, not a single prosecutor among those has ever been disciplined for their misbehavior, according to new data compiled by the Innocence Project. (Allegations of prosecutor misconduct were raised in another 124 cases, but those issues were not ruled on by any court.) via Austin Chronicle
Considering Andrew Thomas’ State Bar hearings what are your thoughts about prosecutors acting badly? Do we give law enforcement too much slack when they break the law?
Unreliable DUI Devices… AGAIN
Some portable breath testing devices (what you blow into when pulled over) in San Francisco have been found to be unreliable, causing up to 1,000 citizens’ convictions to possibly be overturned. The calibration records, which are kept to ensure that the devices are working properly, showed some discrepancies between what the test results should have been, and what they actually were. These problems were not noticed until, in some cases, multiple years after conviction. Yet again, this is just another example of how important it is to make sure that the police officers have taken all the right steps to ensure that you get a fair shake. At our office, we pride ourselves in investigating every aspect of the case, including the reliability of all the instruments and machines used by the police officers in your case.
Hat Tip: ABA Journal Failure to Check Alcohol-Test Devices Could Put Up to 1,000 Calif. Drunk-Driving Convictions at Risk