North Phoenix Bar Association

AS SEEN ON THE NOVEMBER 2011 ARIZONA ATTORNEY MAGAZINE COVER!

“Capital Crisis Averted – How The Arizona Superior Court Navigated A Death Penalty Backlog.”

With A Panel of Distinguished Speakers:

Hon. Robert L. Gottsfield, Judge, Arizona Superior Court

Commissioner Patricia Starr, (Appointed-Commissioner), Current Capital Case Staff Attorney with Arizona Death Penalty Judicial Assistance Project

Phil Knox, Arizona Superior Court Administration

Bob James, Criminal Court Administrator

• For death penalty cases, on average, the length of time from Arrest until execution of sentence is 20 Years.
• This issue caused such a severe backlog of capital cases in Superior Court that Arizona Attorney Magazine Published a 2-part, 2-monthlong article series outlining the problem in 2009
• The time frame looked dire, with few apparent options to reduce the capital cases awaiting trial
• Almost three years later, the situation has changed Drastically thanks to the tireless work of Justice Ryan, Judge Donahoe, Judge Gottsfield, Judge Rayes, and the Court Administration.
• Our speakers were directly involved in averting this crisis and they will detail the inner workings of the Superior Court from a top-down level to show how a unified Court structure, Effective Management, and perseverance led to a remarkable and record-setting turnaround of this dire situation.
• Civil practitioners are encouraged to attend as this offers a rare and unique glimpse into the Court’s administrative process from a Judge’s perspective, and of the Judges and attorneys from the perspective of Court Administration.