My Criminal Justice Philosophy
My philosophy on criminal justice is grounded in the belief that we must strive to provide “justice for all.” That encompasses justice for the victims of crime, as well as for the accused. We must also ensure that our criminal justice system inspires trust and confidence among our fellow citizens that criminals are being held accountable for their wrongdoing and are receiving just punishments.
Rights of Victims of Crime
For far too long, victims of crime were viewed as merely a necessary “piece of evidence” in the presentation of a criminal case. Victims were kept in the dark when it came to the status of a criminal case, let alone when hearings were going to be held or even how a case was ultimately resolved. Since a criminal case is brought on behalf of the state, victims were not seen as having a real stake in the proceedings.Fortunately, President Ronald Reagan instituted a commission in the 1980s to review the status of victims of crime and issued a report that has since served as a cornerstone in righting the imbalance between the emphases on the rights of a defendant in a criminal case with those of the victim.
Our state and federal constitutions provide a framework, enhanced by rules of criminal procedure and rules of evidence, that safeguard an accused’s basic and fundamental right to a fair trial. It is also a prosecutor’s duty and responsibility to ensure that right is protected when reviewing, charging, and prosecuting crimes. To that end, prosecutors must exercise sound discretion, looking always to see that justice is done, when wielding the authority and discretion our criminal justice system gives prosecutors.
In the end, the greater the public has confidence in the ability of our criminal justice system to hold criminals accountable and ensure that just punishments are handed down, the more orderly our society remains and the less likely we are to see a resort to vigilante justice.
Death Penalty
I support the imposition of the death penalty as a just punishment in those instances where a murderer has taken innocent human life under circumstances calling out for the ultimate penalty.
Arizona law provides for the sentence of death only after a jury of twelve fellow citizens has first unanimously found that a defendant is guilty of murder, then unanimously found that the murder was committed under circumstances calling for consideration of the death penalty, and then only after the jury has found, again unanimously, that there are no circumstances justifying leniency. Accordingly, the death penalty is imposed only in those instances where the crime is terrible and unjustifiable.
Stand on Issues
Illegal Immigration
As a prosecutor, Bill understands the impact of illegal immigration on crime in Maricopa County. Our status as a destination county for human and drug smuggling brings with it other crime: kidnapping, extortion, auto theft, and violent crimes between rival smuggling gangs. By enforcing the law, we also can impact the real human rights tragedy of people coming to our country looking for a better way of life only to fall prey to Coyotes engaged in human smuggling or suffer death in the desert due to exposure and extreme heat. We can and must enforce laws against illegal immigration and do it without race baiting or gutter politics.
Bill also supports the involvement of local law enforcement in assisting with enforcement of our immigration laws. This can be done in the normal and regular course of law enforcement activity. Bill does not and never will support or abet racial profiling to accomplish legitimate law enforcement activities.
Fighting Crime and Protecting Arizona's Families
Bill supported the Castle Doctrine Law that recognizes a citizen’s right to defend their families without fear of prosecution and Bill also supported Arizona’s Three Strikes Law that targets repeat violent criminals. We must also remember the harm violent crime does to victims and Bill has been a strong advocate of Victim Rights in Arizona throughout his legal career, including working as a Crime Victim Rights Attorney and appearing on his own before the State Legislature in support of Victim Rights legislation.Protecting Arizona's Children
Bill understands that violent child sexual predators cannot be rehabilitated and will support life sentences for these offenses. As a member of the Joint Legislative Committee on GPS Monitoring, Bill has also advocated for GPS monitoring for other convicted child sex offenders. Additionally, Bill will conduct Internet sting operations seeking to capture Internet child predators before they strike our kids
and leave no area of safety for predators to work in. Lastly, Bill will seek to put more tools into the hands of parents to protect their kids on the Internet. Bill is an advocate for a Child Protection Registry that will allow parents to register e-mails, cell phone numbers, and other electronic contact information of their children so adult businesses, to include tobacco and alcohol products, cannot contact their children to solicit business.Identity Theft
Identity Theft is prevalent in Arizona. In fact, Arizona has had the worst Identity Theft rate of any state in the country for over 10 years. Bill is committed to continuing efforts to fight fraud and identity theft through the specialized Fraud and Identity Theft Enforcement Bureau of the County Attorney's Office. Bill also supports efforts to make it easier for victims of Identity Theft to clear credit reports of fraudulent information and to report instances of multi-jurisdictional crimes. The harm suffered by identity theft victims extends beyond the "mere" inconvenience of a lower credit score to include the emotional toll, the time and effort to try and untangle what happened, to the financial cost of missed opportunities because of denied credit.