On Monday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled in the case of William Craig Miller who was convicted of killing five people including Tammy Lovell and her boyfriend Steven Duffy in 2006, according to the East Valley Tribune.
The court found Miller was not deprived of his right to counsel.
A defendant is deprived of the Sixth Amendment right to counsel if his lawyer provided deficient representation, which prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). We are asked to decide whether the failure to challenge an incorrect jury instruction widely used by the legal community at the time of trial and appeal constitutes deficient performance. Although lawyers can be constitutionally deficient for making errors commonly made by others, the record here does not reflect that the defendant’s lawyers were deficient by failing to challenge the jury instruction or that any deficiency prejudiced the defense. – Arizona Supreme Court
According to the Tribune, Lovell, who was 32 at the time of her death, was in a relationship with 30-year-old Steven Duffy. Miller was convicted of killing Lovel and Duffy as well as Duffy’s brother, 18-year-old Shane Duffy and Lovell’s children, Cassandra, who was 15, and Jacob, who was 10 years old.
Duffy and Lovel both worked for Miller previously, and they were both informants against him in a 2005 arson case. According to authorities, Duffy was enlisted by Miller in the arson, which Miller would use to collect insurance money on his burnt home, according to the Tribune.
Today the Arizona Supreme Court issued two rulings affirming the rights of crime victims: ?? ?. ?????? and ?? ?. ?????. The first reinstates sentencing for a convicted killer who murdered a Mesa family of 5, including 2 children, in 2006. https://t.co/V6xP8nAjcL
Miller was sentenced to death. He has been an inmate on Death Row in Florence since then.
In March 2021, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich advised Governor Doug Ducey in a letter that his office had found a supplier of pentobarbital, a drug used in lethal injections. Brnovich told Ducey that the procurement “removes all barriers” for the state to carry out executions.”
According to Brnovich, Arizona has more than 100 people on death row, with 20 having exhausted their appeals.
On Monday, Governor Doug Ducey rescinded a March 2020 Executive Order that waived the requirement that an individual receiving employment benefits must be actively looking for work in order to receive the benefits. Arizonans receiving unemployment benefits may continue to receive benefits, but under reinstated requirements, must show that they are actively looking for work.
The move was hailed by employers struggling to find employees.
According to the Governor’s Office, Arizona’s labor force currently is 100.09 percent compared to pre-pandemic levels, with more people employed in Arizona than before the pandemic.
Businesses are struggling to fill positions, especially those in the restaurant and hospitality sectors. The Governor’s Executive Order is intended to help fill those low-wage jobs.
TODAY: I issued an Executive Order to meet surging job demand and support job creators throughout Arizona as employment opportunities grow and the #COVID19 vaccine is available for anyone who wants it. 1/
The Arizona Department of Economic Security will begin enforcing the reinstated requirement the week of Sunday, May 23.
“A year out from the start of the pandemic, jobs and vaccines are readily available,” said Ducey. “Arizonans are ready to get back to work. Our economy is booming, jobs need filling, more than 2 million Arizonans are fully vaccinated, and vaccination appointments are available to anyone who wants one.”
“As President Reagan said, the best social program is a job,” the Governor added. “This statement rings true today. Unemployment benefits are still available to Arizonans who need them, but now that plenty of jobs are available, those receiving the benefits should be actively looking for work.”
“Southern Arizona businesses made many adjustments and sacrifices to weather the economic effects of the pandemic,” said Tucson Metro Chamber President and CEO Amber Smith. “Businesses cannot afford to weather another storm unable to fill positions. Now that vaccines are out far and wide, many businesses are scaling back up looking for employees. It’s important that we work to meet this job demand and get the word out that a variety of jobs are available.”
A February report released by the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity is projecting strong job growth in the state over the next two years, with the largest gains happening in sectors hit hardest by the pandemic. Arizona is expected to gain more than 325,000 jobs between spring 2020 and the same time next year, a 5.5 percent annualized growth rate.
“Arizona continues to be a top travel destination for leisure visitors,” said Arizona Office of Tourism Director Debbie Johnson. “The tourism industry was hard-hit by the pandemic, but now that we have a better understanding of the virus and more people have been vaccinated, visitors are returning to Arizona for our unbeatable outdoor recreation, top-notch restaurants, beautiful lodging and more. With this increase in demand, the tourism industry has jobs to fill to keep up. I’m encouraged to see how far we’ve come from this time last year, and I’m looking forward to the return of strong tourism employment in Arizona.”
Additionally, the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity in March released an employment report showing more than 16,000 jobs had been added back in the state. Also, an April article from AZ Big Media shows Arizona is among the top five most recovered states for unemployment.
“The Arizona Department of Economic Security throughout the pandemic has worked hard to ensure benefits are distributed timely, and that the needs of families and individuals are met,” said Arizona Department of Economic Security Director Michael Wisehart. “Arizona’s economy continues to strengthen and employers are looking for talent. Businesses have implem
PHOENIX — After a scathing investigative report by the Arizona Republic, Governor Doug Ducey is working with the Arizona Legislature to strip all licensing and regulatory responsibilities from the Board of Examiners of Nursing Care Institution Administrators and Assisted Living Facility Managers.
The board, which oversees the leadership of nursing care and assisted living facilities, granted a license to an individual convicted of a felony for fraud, failed to investigate complaints in a timely manner, and did not provide accurate information to the public.
Ducey’s call for greater accountability coincides with his veto of Senate Bill 1282, which would have reauthorized the board for eight years, until July 2029.
In a sharply worded veto letter, the Governor asked the Board’s responsibilities be transferred to the Arizona Department of Health Services.
“I look forward to working with the Legislature to transfer all licensing and regulation of nursing care institution administrators and assisted living facility managers to the Arizona Department of Health Services,” the Governor said in the letter. “It’s time for accountability and new leadership to supervise these facilities. Our seniors—these are our grandmothers and grandfathers—deserve nothing less.”
A group of conservative students at Arizona State University was smeared in an online social media campaign, targeted with doctored images and false claims.
According to documents obtained exclusively through YAF’s Campus Bias Tip Line, a current representative in ASU’s student government, Daniel Lopez, reportedly helped create an Instagram page titled “Don’t Vote For These-USG!” intended to intimidate conservative students running for USG positions, and sway the results of the election.
Arizona is one of twenty-one states that filed a comment letter opposing the use of “Social Cost of Carbon” analysis by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in certification decisions related to interstate natural gas pipeline construction.
The executive order has potentially devastating impacts, according to Alaska’s Attorney General Treg Taylor, who said it would allow “the federal government to assign vague and arbitrary costs to everyday regulatory and business activity.”
The comment letter, which was filed this week, argues that neither the Natural Gas Act (NGA) or the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) authorize FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to use the “Social Cost of Carbon” in consideration of certification applications, that the “Social Cost of Carbon” analysis is speculative and scientifically flawed, and that FERC should adhere to its previous position that “Social Cost of Carbon” analysis is not appropriate for NEPA analysis.
FERC is charged by Congress with reviewing and certifying applications for interstate natural gas pipeline projects proposed by private companies.
The letter argues that FERC applying “Social Cost of Carbon” analysis to certifications is not authorized by the NGA. The letter states, “Congress’s subsequent actions further show that the ‘public interest’ in the NGA is concerned with keeping natural gas widely available and affordable.” To that point, the letter says, “In the NGA, Congress did not vest FERC with the authority of an international commission to mitigate global climate change, and certainly no statute contains a ‘clear’ statement of such an extraordinary delegation of authority. Utilizing the SCC or SCM is not authorized under the NGA because it would only serve to increase costs (whether regulatory burdens or other costs) based on speculation about future global damages, instead of rendering natural gas abundant and affordable.”
Similarly, as it relates to NEPA, the letter contends, “Likewise, NEPA does not mandate or permit FERC to use the SCC for pipeline certifications. Like the NGA, NEPA does not contain any clear statement of Congress delegating authority to FERC to anticipate and mitigate global climate change under the aegis of promoting abundant and affordable natural gas,” and states later, “NEPA does not authorize the Commission to use the SCC values because NEPA’s hard look requirement and proximate cause standard does not permit agencies to rely on speculative conclusions or conclusions that the agency knows reflect substandard and outdated science.
Additionally, the letter states that “Social Cost of Carbon” analysis is speculative and not based on science, specifically because the letter contends that:
Global damages are not reasonably foreseeable and do not have a close causal relationship to any project
Damages from the year 2300 are too speculative, attenuated, and arbitrary to survive hard-look review under NEPA
The SCC’s choice of discount rates is arbitrary and lacks a scientific basis
The SCC is based on outdated scenarios and ignores science without justification
