When The Stakes Are This High,
You Need A Real Defense

Raising Arizona

by | Oct 5, 2021 | Legal Insights

I recently had a client that was convicted of a sex offense in Arizona. The odd was that he was not present in the state at the time of trial. He had been given permission by the judge to return to Michigan to treat a tumor. The trial date adjourned. All of a sudden, the judge decided he wanted him back to begin the trial. He had not yet had his surgery and the VA could not and would not clear him to travel. The court in Arizona held the trial WITHOUT him being present. In Michigan, and in most, if not, all other states, that would be a violation of his 6th Amendment right to confront his accuser. He was convicted and then arrest in Michigan to be extradited to Arizona. We fought the extradition as hard and as long as we could, but at the end of the day, there isn’t much we do. Arizona has jurisdiction. The biggest kick is that the police in Arizona may have committed fraud to charge him.