Neither the northeast Valley’s justice of the peace nor his Democratic challenger wants to discuss in detail their beliefs about the job — doing so would violate the ethic of judicial impartiality.

WASHINGTON - Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. was sworn in as the nation's 110th Supreme Court justice on Tuesday after being confirmed by the Senate in one of the most partisan victories in modern history.

Courtrooms can be destructive to families. That was the premise Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Norman Davis used in the summer of 2004 when he started massive reforms to Family Court.

PUERTO PEÑASCO, Mexico - It only took seconds for the five Mexican police officers to zero in on the American teenager hanging out with a local known drug dealer on a dusty street corner.

The Green Party is now officially recognized as a political party in Arizona.

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama's search to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice David Souter should extend beyond the current roster of federal judges, senators from both political parties said Sunday.

The North Carolina State Bar’s ethics panel put a fitting end to the legal career of Michael Nifong by disbarring the Durham County district attorney who brought dubious charges of rape and sexual assault against three members of Duke University’s lacrosse team last year.

February 4, 2005

This year’s more conservative Arizona Legislature appears to be moving to undermine an independent judicial system, which would eventually deny justice to those without political power, said the leader of the state’s highest court.

For the newest justice of the Arizona Supreme Court, the decision to pursue a career in law wasn’t some sort of lifelong goal. In fact, it was barely a conscious pursuit.

OTTAWA - Conservative Stephen Harper pledged to quickly carry out his campaign promises to cut taxes, get tough on crime and repair strained ties with Washington after his party won national elections.

WASHINGTON - Judicial nominee Priscilla Owen gets the vote she's been awaiting for more than four years, the most immediate beneficiary of a deal worked out by Senate moderates to avoid a debilitating fight over filibusters.

July 28, 2004

February 18, 2005

Human nature doesn’t like to accept that senseless, tragic accidents sometime cause the untimely deaths of people we love or admire. We are driven to find someone to blame in the hope that we can prevent it from happening again — and we want to carry out some measure of justice if the guilty party is still around.

The newest member of the Arizona Supreme Court, Justice Scott Bales, has two sides to his reputation as a legal scholar.

A proposal to put partisanship into picking state trial court judges that Arizonans wisely abandoned more than three decades ago is stirring in the state Legislature.

Tom Patterson, guest commentary

The architect of Arizona’s new immigration law won’t get an active role in defending it in federal court.

In light of Super Tuesday II, I wonder if Hillary Clinton will keep whining. It’s so unbecoming a presidential candidate, but appears to be her strategy, though a dirty one.

JERUSALEM - In a bold gamble, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon left his hard-line Likud party Monday to form a new centrist party, and he asked Israel's president to dissolve parliament and push for a quick March election.

In the roll call of places where fighting factions made peace, perhaps Ghent, Camp David and Dayton one day will be joined by Tempe.

July 25, 2004