A program at University of Arizona focused on investigating wrongful convictions is getting federal funding to ramp up its work.
The University of Arizona Innocence Project leaders say their work is needed because in Arizoa, many criminal defendants are not entitled to a public defender after initial post-conviction proceedings – often before evidence around someone’s innocence comes to light.
The Department of Justice is awarding a $1.5 million grant to the program to expand the use of DNA testing. Program heads say this cutting-edge but costly technology will allow them to look more deeply into cases and address a growing backlog of cases more quickly.
They say advancements in DNA testing have resulted in a rise in exonerations nationwide, but only three of those cases have been in Arizona.
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In a district with more than 80% nonwhite students, the community is calling for a more rigorous effort to protect schools from potential immigration enforcement activity. -
A bill advancing in the Arizona Legislature would direct local police to determine the immigration status of people they’ve arrested. If a person is undocumented, local police would be required to notify federal immigration officers. -
Friday is the final day of a social services event for veterans at the state fairgrounds. It includes satellite courtrooms so former military can clear their records of fines, fees and other minor legal issues. -
The expanded order requires services that transfer money abroad to report data about customers who make transactions over $1,000. -
Investigators released their preliminary report on the DPS helicopter that crashed in Flagstaff last month, killing both officers onboard. The report found no evidence of maintenance issues or ballistic damage but found evidence of main rotor strikes to the tail rotor gearbox.
