An end run around professional ethics and standards: Andrew Thomas and his friends

...Sooooo....when Thomas loses in November, will the (self-appointed) Judicial Advisory Subcommittee of The Flat Earth Society, Arizona Chapter reverse it's position on the disciplinary powers of the state Bar Association? More importantly, will their health insurance cover the whiplash?

On Monday, 15 state legislators (including previous Legislative Loon award winners Sen. Jack Harper and Rep. Russell Pearce) released a letter that they had signed condemning the Arizona Bar Association's investigations into complaints about Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

They're upset that their fellow elected official could lose his office because of professional misconduct.

I was going to write a long, detailed, and profoundly perceptive post on this, but Michael Bryan of Blog for Arizona beat me to it, so I get stuck making wiseass comments.

That's truly disappointing.

Really.

Trust me. :))


I wonder what they're more concerned with - preserving Andrew Thomas' future, or quashing the radical idea proposed by the bar association, that elected officials should be held to the same professional standards as their un-elected colleagues?

AZ Republic's Political Insider coverage here; PolitickerAZ coverage here.

Note: This isn't Pearce's first attempt to shield Thomas from his misconduct. In April, he proposed a "strike-everything" amendment to a bill that would have exempted public officials and employees from investigation by or sanctions from the state bar association or the State Supreme Court. Ultimately, the striker wasn't passed or even heard in committee as Pearce chose to not bring it forward because, to paraphrase, "the court will take care of the problem itself." (My post on the topic here)

Perhaps the best solution would be to make the issue a moot one -

Either Gerald Richard or Tim Nelson would make for a far superior public servant and prosecutor than Thomas.

Of course, so would I, and my only exposure to the Arizona legal system has been getting summonsed for jury duty a few times. (BTW: the candidate who promises free wi-fi in all court jury pool waiting areas in the county has the inside track on getting my vote. :)) )

Later!