No record found of whether Rep. David Stringer disclosed arrest to Arizona Bar

PHOENIX — Embattled state Rep. David Stringer may have one less issue to worry about.

A spokesman for the Arizona Supreme Court said Friday his agency is unable to find Stringer’s 2003 application form seeking permission to practice law in this state.

The information comes after the State Bar of Arizona, which regulates the conduct of attorneys, confirmed earlier this week that it opened an inquiry into whether the Prescott Republican had disclosed his criminal record when he moved to the state and applied to be admitted to the Bar.

Bar spokesman Rick DeBruhl said Friday he could not comment on the failure of the Supreme Court to find the application form.

But without the form, there are no documents to prove whether Stringer complied with the requirements of the high court’s Committee on Character and Fitness to provide all the information requested.

No matter what the Bar does or does not pursue on Stringer, he still faces a pair of complaints made by other lawmakers to the House Ethics Committee. Those stem in part from inflammatory comments about race and immigration Stringer made last year. But both complaints also cite a court record from Maryland referring to Stringer’s 1983 arrest on multiple charges including child pornography.

Stringer has told Capitol Media Services he has “no criminal record,” apparently relying on the fact that he entered into a plea agreement which was supposed to expunge the court records after he completed probation.

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The application to practice law in Arizona specifically asks for any time a person has been questioned, arrested, taken into custody, indicted, charged with, tried for or pleaded guilty to any criminal violation. It requires applications to disclose all incidents, “whether guilty or not, whether expunged or not.”

Supreme Court spokesman Aaron Nash said there’s nothing unusual about the fact that no one can find Stringer’s original application.

“The retention schedule for Bar applicant files is seven years after admission,” he said.

In this case, Stringer was admitted to practice law in January 2004, “which in this case would have called for destruction in January 2011.”

The lack of the written record does not mean the State Bar cannot question Stringer about his application. Attorneys have no Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination in Bar inquiries.

Meanwhile, Rep. T.J. Shope, R-Coolidge, who chairs the House Ethics Committee, said he is hiring outside legal help to investigate the complaints against Stringer, interview potential witnesses and provide legal advice.