by Ethan Faverino | Apr 15, 2026 | News
By Ethan Faverino |
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen has filed a new legal brief in the case of Doe v. Sheridan, urging the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to uphold Arizona’s sex offender registration and monitoring laws, which are designed to protect children and families across the state.
The filing comes after a significant victory at the trial court level, where a federal judge rejected constitutional challenges and upheld Arizona’s lifetime registration and reporting requirements for convicted sex offenders.
The plaintiff, a convicted sex offender who pleaded guilty to crimes involving a minor and accepted lifetime probation and registration as part of the plea agreement, is now appealing the decision in an effort to weaken the state’s ability to track and monitor potential threats.
At issue is Arizona’s requirement that convicted sex offenders provide law enforcement with updated information, including online identifiers used on social media and other internet platforms. These provisions enable authorities to investigate crimes more effectively, deter repeat offenses, and safeguard communities from future harm.
“We already prevailed in federal court because Arizona’s law is constitutional and serves a clear public safety purpose,” stated Petersen. “These requirements give law enforcement the ability to track convicted offenders, investigate crimes, and prevent future harm. Weakening those safeguards does not make anyone safer; it only makes it easier for offenders to operate without oversight.”
When Attorney General Kris Mayes declined to defend the law in court, the Arizona Legislature intervened to protect these critical public safety measures. The trial court ultimately ruled in favor of the state, affirming that the registration requirements are constitutional and serve a vital public safety purpose.
“It is deeply concerning that Arizona’s Attorney General has chosen not to defend this law,” added Petersen. “When the state refuses to stand behind its own laws, especially those designed to protect children, the Legislature has a duty to act. We will continue defending these protections to ensure Arizona families are not left exposed.”
The Ninth Circuit will now review the case and decide whether to affirm the lower court’s ruling, preserving Arizona’s sex offender monitoring laws.
Ethan Faverino is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 11, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The leader of the Arizona Senate is one of the top contenders to unseat Attorney General Kris Mayes this November, according to a recent poll.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) led among prospective voters polled about the upcoming primary election in the attorney general’s race.
The poll from Gray House surveyed 400 likely Republican voters and 450 likely general election voters across the state.
Petersen leads fellow Republican candidate Rodney Glassman, both before voters were advised of the candidates’ backgrounds and after. (The polling did include a third Republican candidate, Greg Roeberg; however, Roeberg withdrew from the race in February).
A majority of voters — 75 percent — said they were undecided prior to being informed about the candidates’ backgrounds.
After, 42 percent of the 75 percent of undecided voters put their support behind Petersen.
65 percent of likely voters polled said they were more likely to support Petersen after hearing his biography.
Petersen’s platform proposes a more conservative federalist approach to the attorney general’s office: defending the rule of law as opposed to acting on personal political preferences, curbing federal overreach, increasing criminal prosecutions, defending women’s sports, and protecting constitutional rights.
Petersen has served in the Arizona legislature since 2012—first in the state house, then the state senate. He also assumed a leadership role in the house; he served as the majority leader prior to his election to the state senate.
Glassman, by contrast, lost the support of 74 percent of the voters polled after hearing his biography.
Glassman’s platform focused on certain specific areas of interest, a continuance of the major flip he made from his years as a Democrat: prosecuting border crime and election fraud, advocating for law enforcement, defending the Second Amendment, and scrutinizing government expenditures.
Prior to this race, Glassman ran for attorney general in 2022 as a Republican (lost in the primary), Maricopa County assessor in 2020 as a Republican (lost in the primary), Arizona Corporation Commission in 2018 as a Republican (lost in the general election), and U.S. Senate in 2010 as a Democrat (lost in the general election).
Voters expressed indifference to Roeberg after hearing his biography, only inspiring an additional 17 percent more likely voters.
Among prospective general election voters, Petersen trailed behind Attorney General Mayes by two points, around 42 to 44 percent.
Glassman trailed Mayes by 7 points and Roeberg trailed Mayes by 9 points.
As state senate president, Petersen has been uniquely positioned among the candidates to challenge Mayes on her execution of the office directly. A significant portion of Mayes’ focus in office since last January has concerned fighting policies and executive orders put forth by the Trump administration.
Earlier this week Petersen referred Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes to the Department of Justice for an investigation, alleging the pair were guilty of obstruction of justice and witness tampering for meddling with a federal probe into Arizona election records.
“The threats of the Attorney General and Secretary of State are incompatible with United States Constitution, which enshrines the grand jury in our constitutional order, and only serve to hinder voters’ confidence in our elections,” stated Petersen.
Mayes and Fontes advised the county recorders against complying with the federal subpoena.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 10, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
The Arizona Senate’s leader referred two state officials to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to be investigated for obstruction.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14) announced the referral on Tuesday. Petersen, who is also running for attorney general, accused Attorney General Kris Mayes and Secretary of State Adrian Fontes of obstruction of justice and tampering with a witness concerning the federal probe into Arizona election records.
“The threats of the Attorney General and Secretary of State are incompatible with United States Constitution, which enshrines the grand jury in our constitutional order, and only serve to hinder voters’ confidence in our elections,” stated Petersen in his letter to the DOJ.
The referral emerged in response to Mayes and Fontes requesting information from the state senate concerning its compliance with a recent federal grand jury subpoena of 2020 election records.
In response to Petersen’s referral, Fontes accused the senate president of jeopardizing voters’ safety and security.
“My main concern for ensuring privacy of personal information in voter registration data, as required by law, remains,” said Fontes.
Last month, the two Democratic officials issued a joint letter ordering county recorders not to comply with the federal subpoena. Contrary to what Petersen claimed in Tuesday’s letter, Mayes and Fontes argued compliance with the federal subpoena would violate both federal and state law.
“It is the states’ authority and responsibility to hold elections — not the federal government,” stated the pair’s letter. “Without direct congressional action, the United States Constitution does not authorize or allow the federal government to insert itself into a state’s election procedures, much less authorize the DOJ to unilaterally build a national voter database.”
Mayes called the subpoena “a weaponization of federal law enforcement in service of crackpots and lies,” and Petersen “an unrepentant election denier” spreading conspiracy theories and false stories of election fraud.
Petersen said the pair’s request from the state senate suggested their intention to interfere with the federal investigation.
Petersen based his referral on a legal analysis from the law firm Snell & Wilmer, which he said defended the state senate’s compliance with the federal subpoena and posited that the request by Mayes and Fontes constituted obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
In Petersen’s letter to Arizona District Attorney Timothy Courchaine, the state senate president accused Mayes and Fontes of ulterior motives linked to election meddling.
“Instead of fighting over these issues, we should all be working together to ensure the election integrity necessary to realize our country’s democratic promise,” said Petersen. “The Attorney General and Secretary’s phobia of fair and secure elections is impossible to explain absent nefarious motives.”
Mayes’ reelection campaign manager, Delaney Corcoran, said in a response that Petersen’s referral was a means to “seek retribution against his political enemies.”
Mayes made a similar claim when news of the federal subpoena emerged last month.
“One of the Republicans hoping to challenge me this fall is reigniting his SHAM ‘Cyber Ninja’ 2020 election audit conspiracies to the disservice of Arizonans,” said Mayes. “It’s a disgusting politicization of government and a waste of time and [money].”
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 8, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Republican lawmakers are challenging Pima County over its resolution to prevent federal immigration enforcement from using county property.
House and Senate leadership filed a complaint with Attorney General Kris Mayes on Monday requesting an SB1487 Investigation. There is only one other active complaint under this designation, relating to a similar regulation prohibiting federal immigration enforcement activity on city property passed by the city of Phoenix.
In February, Pima County adopted a resolution, “Protecting County-Owned Properties,” prohibiting county departments, agencies, and employees from giving federal officials access to county buildings without a court warrant. The policy also barred departments, agencies, and employees from voluntarily assisting, facilitating, or cooperating with immigration enforcement.
The policy also prohibited county property from being used for staging areas, processing locations, or operations bases for immigration enforcement. The county defined staging area to include an assembling, mobilization, or deployment of vehicles, equipment, materials, or personnel for immigration enforcement.
Pima County Supervisor Rex Scott told AZPM that federal agents would have to justify themselves to county officials.
“If somebody with an enforceable warrant comes in, wanting to deal with what we’ve heard are the ‘worst of the worst,’ they’re going to be able to do that,” said Scott. “These warrantless, random sweeps that we’ve been seeing around the country are not going to happen on county property.”
Pima County Supervisor Tanya Nunez went a step further. She told KOLD that ICE needed to cease operations entirely.
“It’s a first step, it’s an important step, but it is really just the beginning. We need to have ICE not operate anywhere in our community, not just county property,” said Nunez.
According to the supervisors, the goal of the resolution was to prevent mass deportations and to limit immigration agents to warrant-based actions.
GOP leadership in the legislature say this resolution violates Arizona law prohibiting subdivisions of the state from limiting or restricting the enforcement of federal immigration laws, and the Supremacy Clause included in the Arizona Constitution.
Senate President Warren Petersen called the resolution a “radical” undermining of public safety in a press release.
“We’re seeing Democrat-run local governments put radical political agendas ahead of public safety,” said Petersen. “Instead of supporting law enforcement and protecting their citizens from crime, they’re creating barriers that make it harder to enforce the law and easier for criminals to stay in our communities.”
Senate President Pro Tempore TJ Shope argued these patchwork mandates from municipalities would only undermine law and order.
“This is about making sure our laws are applied consistently across Arizona,” said Shope. “When one county decides to go rogue, it creates gaps that undermine enforcement statewide. Arizonans expect coordination between all levels of government, not policies that tie the hands of law enforcement.”
House Majority Leader John Kavanagh questioned whether Mayes would have an biased approach, given her outspoken criticisms of ICE.
“Given her record and her public opposition to immigration enforcement, there is a serious question about whether she can review this case objectively. This is not a policy debate. The law is clear, and it must be applied,” said Kavanagh.
The city of Phoenix passed a regulation similar to Pima County’s resolution last month.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
by Staff Reporter | Apr 2, 2026 | News
By Staff Reporter |
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ former division chief was sentenced to probation for theft on Wednesday.
Vanessa Paice Dailey (formerly Hickman) stole a misdelivered package containing $40,000 in jewelry last May. Out of all the jewelry in the package, Dailey failed to return a diamond bracelet worth $2,400. The package belonged to one of Dailey’s neighbors.
Records reflected that Dailey had sold an identical diamond bracelet on Poshmark for $750. As part of her sentencing, Dailey was ordered to pay that money back.
The attorney general’s office placed Dailey on administrative leave in November; shortly after, Dailey resigned.
The name change from Hickman to Dailey reflected the finalization of her divorce, which occurred when she was placed on leave. It was during those proceedings that Hickman admitted to attending an alcohol abuse outpatient treatment program while working full-time for Mayes.
Dailey pleaded guilty last month to the charges of theft and facilitation to commit trafficking in stolen property.
Not only did Mayes let Dailey go under controversial circumstances, she hired her under dubious circumstances as well.
The city of Peoria warned Mayes about hiring Dailey back in 2023. City leaders alleged Dailey, who became their city attorney in 2018, was guilty of serious misconduct to include fraud.
Mayes dismissed the warning as a “political stunt.”
The city later sued Dailey, accusing her of paying herself a six-figure severance to which she wasn’t entitled. That lawsuit is ongoing. Dailey filed a countersuit, which the Maricopa County Superior Court dismissed.
Dailey’s work as city attorney can be tied to one high-profile murder case that occurred this year.
As AZ Free News reported, it was under Dailey that a man released from a weapons charge later committed the widely-reported deadly shooting of a man at a Phoenix gas station in January.
City of Peoria prosecutors dismissed a deadly weapons charge against Deondre Stephen Franklin, 25, in 2020. Franklin was under 21 years old at the time. The court allowed Franklin to undergo substance abuse evaluation and education instead of jail time.
The murder case against Franklin is ongoing.
Dailey’s arrest and other key events have prompted Arizona’s legislative leaders to scrutinize Mayes publicly.
Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-LD14), attorney general candidate, accused Mayes of maintaining a culture of misconduct, corruption, and political weaponization.
“Mayes’ office had been warned by the city of Peoria nearly two years earlier about serious allegations against Hickman — including fraud, conversion, and breach of fiduciary duty — yet Mayes kept her in a position of authority,” said Petersen.
Mayes also faced criticism over her ongoing prosecution of the 2020 electors for Trump. Republican leaders say the timeline connecting donations from the Democratic Attorneys General Association and key actions undertaken by Mayes in the case amounted to corruption.
Rep. Abraham Hamadeh (R-AZ08) asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate those appearances of bribery and prosecutorial misconduct.
“Many of the individuals involved in this scheme have engaged in highly questionable activity, and as I wrote in my letter to Attorney General Bondi, their rogue and unethical conduct is not isolated to Arizona,” said Hamadeh. “As a former prosecutor, it is unimaginable to me that these officers of the court allegedly conspired to deny citizens their fundamental constitutional rights. Yet, it appears that is exactly what happened.”
That request was made in November. The DOJ has not announced any investigation into Mayes.
AZ Free News is your #1 source for Arizona news and politics. You can send us news tips using this link.
