(This story has been updated to add a new photo gallery and new promotional photos.)
Incumbent Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, and challenger Pro Tempore Judge Tamika Wootton, a Democrat, faced off on Tuesday in the only debate in the Maricopa County Attorney race.
Mitchell defeated former Maricopa County Chief Attorney and trial attorney Gina Godbehere in the Republican primary. Wootton ran unopposed in the primary.
Mitchell was first appointed county attorney in 2022 following the resignation of Alistair Adel. Mitchell defeated Democrat Julie Gunnigle in an election later that year to serve the remainder of Adel's term.
Prior to becoming the DA, Mitchell served as chief of the sex crimes bureau, which led to him being hired by the Republican chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee to question Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh during Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination hearings in 2018. Ford had accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager, charges Kavanaugh denied.
Wootton has run for county attorney before, announcing his candidacy in the 2020 election but failing to gather enough signatures to get his candidacy on the ballot.
Mr. Wootton has been an attorney for over 30 years, has practiced criminal defense and has served as a lead prosecutor in Glendale and a district judge in several jurisdictions.
During Tuesday's debate, Mitchell introduced himself as a career felony prosecutor who had worked for the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for 32 years.
“The majority of that has been spent on protecting women and children from sexual assaults, physical abuse and domestic violence,” she said.
Mitchell said when he took over the office, “it was a mess.”
“I had a lot of backlogs,” she said. “I had some issues with the police officers, and I needed to sort that out.”
Mitchell said he has gotten the situation under control and is in the process of moving the department forward.
She spoke of her focus on organized retail crime, gun violence and fentanyl-related prosecutions, and asked voters to allow her to serve out her term to continue tackling those issues.
Wootton cited her work as a prosecutor, lawyer and judge to present herself as a candidate with a broader range of experience.
“I bring global experience in criminal law that my opponent does not have,” Wootton said, describing Mitchell as a “career prosecutor.”
Wootton said his work experience has prepared him to not only prosecute violent crimes, but also address recidivism, addiction and mental health issues.
The County Attorney leads the Maricopa County Prosecutor's Office, one of the largest prosecutorial agencies in the country.
The office reviews and decides felony charges within the county and misdemeanor charges in unincorporated areas, and provides legal services to the county board of supervisors and county departments and agencies.
Wooten accuses Mitchell of making a 'sweet deal'
Mitchell said the biggest problem facing the county prosecutor's office is a shortage of police officers.
“What will impact the county prosecutor's office is how quickly and how thoroughly they can investigate,” she said.
Mitchell said it's important for county attorneys to support law enforcement.
“Not blanket support where people are not held accountable, but support that shows we're standing by them as partners, supporting their efforts, understanding their work and will walk with them to make sure offenders are held accountable,” she said.
Mr Wootton said regaining public trust was the biggest challenge facing the police service. He accused Mr Mitchell of offering “sweet deals”, offering diversion programmes to defendants and displaying “lenient attitudes and practices”.
“The role of the prosecutor's office is not just to obtain a conviction, but to administer justice, and administer justice for a just cause,” Wooten said.
Mitchell defended his choice regarding options other than prosecution, pointing to “robust” programs that address substance abuse and mental health issues, saying they “keep these people out of the criminal justice system so they're not burdened with permanent felony charges.”
In response to the allegations of special treatment, Mitchell brought up the case of Charles Ryan, a former Arizona State Prisons warden who engaged in a drunken standoff with Tempe police at his home for hours, during which he pointed a gun at officers. Mitchell offered Ryan a plea deal to disorderly conduct to avoid sending him to prison. Following the incident, two Tempe police officers submitted letters to the judge asking that Ryan be held accountable, with one of them saying he believed prison time was appropriate.
Mitchell said during the forum that he had spoken with Tempe police leaders and they agreed with him that Ryan could not be charged with the more serious offense of aggravated assault. Mitchell has previously cited Ryan's severe intoxication as a reason for deciding not to charge him with the more serious offense, and he reiterated that argument on Tuesday.
“Police chose not to arrest him that night because they saw the situation as it was,” Mitchell said of Tempe police's decision not to take Ryan to jail. “We saw the situation as it was and recommended the appropriate course of action for him.”
Wootton said Mitchell should have listened to Ryan's victims, the Tempe police officers, rather than the department's leadership.
Restoring public trust after arrests of protesters
Host Ted Simons asked the candidates how they would restore public trust in the Maricopa County Attorney's Office after Adel's office filed gang charges against protesters arrested by Phoenix police — all charges that were ultimately dismissed.
Mitchell said he raised the alarm about these cases with his superiors and told them they were over-prosecuted. When he became county attorney, he prioritized investigating the prosecutor who was handling the gang charges, fired him and then testified against him at a State Bar hearing, Mitchell said.
Wooten said she disagreed with the notion that Mitchell had been able to turn around the DA's office. She vowed to boost morale by giving staff the training they need to be confident in prosecuting cases, which in turn will boost public confidence in the DA's office.
Mitchell countered that morale and employment were improving and that the backlog of cases was being cleared.
Where do the candidates stand on abortion-related prosecutions?
Neither candidate has made any full commitments about how they would respond if a lawsuit were brought regarding abortions after 15 weeks, the limit under Arizona's current law.
Wootton suggested such prosecutions were not a priority for her job.
“We believe the focus needs to be on keeping communities safe and the broader community safety, rather than policing women's uteruses,” Wootton said.
Mitchell said no abortion-related cases have been filed by any county attorneys in Arizona since Roe v. Wade was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Abortion rights are on the ballot in November, and Mitchell said it's up to voters, not county attorneys, to decide what the law should be.
“It's the county attorney's job to respect the will of the voters,” Mitchell said, “so if a case is brought to me that violates the laws that the voters elected, I will review it just like I would any other case.”
Wootton said he did not have the authority to prosecute abortion cases because Gov. Katie Hobbs gave that authority to Attorney General Chris Mays. Mitchell said Gov. Hobbs overstepped her authority.
Simmons asked Mitchell what she would do if a case of a rape or incest victim seeking an abortion at 16 or 17 weeks was presented to her before the abortion rights referendum took place.
“Well, in that situation — and this is something I've been very clear about — I've spent 25 years of my career prosecuting sexual assault and molestation cases, and in that situation I would not prosecute,” Mitchell said. “In that situation, it's not in the best interest of the community or the victim, but I will still review every case that's presented to my office.”
Wootton said he agreed with Mitchell's response.
Wooten attacks Mitchell over Gilbert Goons prosecution
Mr Wootton said he believed Mr Mitchell had not handled teen violence properly, particularly the prosecution of the so-called “Gilbert Goons”. Mr Wootton said he believed the prosecutions were influenced by the higher socio-economic status of the families involved.
“The county prosecutor's office knew the people involved and there were a number of people who came forward so they decided to wait and see how this case went,” Wootton said. “If this had been the South Mountain Goons I feel justice would have been achieved much sooner.” Mitchell said prosecuting teen violence cases, particularly the Preston Road case, is extremely complicated, which is why it took so long to investigate and prosecute.
The debate will air on Arizona PBS and can be viewed on the channel's website. azpbs.organd YouTube Channel.
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