PHOENIX — The chief justice of the Arizona Supreme Court has assigned a special counsel to look into ethics complaints against the state’s newest justice.
Meredith Vivona, the state’s “independent bar counsel,” will review charges against Bill Montgomery that predate his appointment to the state’s high court earlier this month by Gov. Doug Ducey.
Chief Justice Robert Brutinel provided no specific timeline for Vivona to come up with findings.
Montgomery would not comment on the latest action, with a court spokesman saying he “is busy with his duties as justice.” But in an earlier statement — before he was tapped by Ducey — Montgomery called the complaint against him “political.”
The complaint filed earlier this month by attorney Karen Clark contends that Montgomery, as Maricopa County attorney, unethically covered up misconduct by Juan Martinez, who was his lead prosecutor, about his activities in the murder trial of Jodi Arias.
Arias was sentenced to life behind bars after what had been a highly publicized, and often lurid, trial in which she was found guilty of the 2008 murder of Travis Alexander. He was shot in the head, had his throat slit and was stabbed 27 times. Her conviction is currently on appeal.
What led to this complaint against Montgomery was conduct by Martinez, both during the trial and elsewhere.
Clark charges it was Montgomery’s legal obligation to supervise Martinez. She said he engaged in unethical conduct by blocking the public release of records, including complaints by employees who claim they were harassed by Martinez.
There’s also an allegation that Montgomery authorized Martinez to write a book about the Arias trial before it ended, and to do it during business hours when he was on the county payroll.
Clark also said Montgomery gave access to case information to outsiders, including someone from the Dr. Drew Show on HLN.
Clark has filed a separate ethics complaint against Martinez.
The order by Brutinel puts Vivona in charge of that one, too, “due to the interrelationship of these charges” with those against Montgomery.
Under normal circumstances, complaints against attorneys are heard by attorneys for the State Bar of Arizona, an organization to which all attorneys must belong to practice law in Arizona.
In 2018, however, the state Supreme Court set up the separate Office of Independent Bar Counsel to handle complaints in situations where the person being investigated is a member of the State Bar staff, worked for the organization, and where the person is a member of a disciplinary hearing panel.
It also gives Brutinel, as chief justice, the authority to refer matters to Vivona when there are other circumstances that might bring into doubt the ability of the State Bar to properly investigate and discipline an attorney.
Less clear is what happens if Vivona finds that anything Montgomery did rises to the level of an ethics violation.
In general, most forms of discipline are handled by the State Bar. On occasion, however, a case will wind up before the Supreme Court, which, strictly speaking, has final say over anyone authorized to practice law.
Clark’s complaint was filed as Montgomery was on the short list for Ducey to fill a vacancy on the high court.
“Political agendas and special interests should not be allowed to have a place when it comes to the ethical responsibilities of a prosecutor,” Montgomery said in a written statement at the time. “I await a full and timely review of these inaccurate claims that have been previously reviewed and found to be without merit.”
Ducey subsequently picked Montgomery for the court, saying he found the timing of the complaint “pretty suspicious.”
Clark denied that the complaint or its timing was political.
In the meantime, Rachel Mitchell, the chief deputy who is running the Maricopa Count Attorney’s Office for the time being, reassigned Martinez from handling death penalty cases to prosecuting auto theft.
Mitchell said the new assignment would give him “a caseload that would be more flexible and allow him to take time when needed to focus on resolving these (ethics) complaints.”
