Democrats have cast doubt on GOP Attorney General candidate Abraham Hamadeh's legal experience. Records from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office where Hamadeh was a prosecutor show he has less trial experience than he has said.
Valeena Beety, a criminal law professor at Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor School, said law students in Arizona can practice law in court as"Generally students don't get to first chair a case; if they do, it would be for a minor fine or maybe a misdemeanor," Beety said., Hamadeh worked on 27 criminal cases as a prosecutor. None of these cases went to trial, as the charges were either dismissed or the defendant pleaded guilty.
Beety, who also has experience as a federal prosecutor, added that lawyers can only be considered first chair if their case goes to trial. The pattern in Hamadeh’s cases is typical. According to published by the Vera Institute of Justice in 2020, over 90% of convictions at the state and federal level come through plea bargains.The Arizona Democratic Party said Hamadeh misled"about his legal experience."
Hamadeh said in an interview that he worked on"dozens of trials" for the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office and led cases as first chair. Court records list Hamadeh as participating in 28 cases, and none of those cases went to trial. In practice, the role of first chair applies to trials.Without judging whether he intended to deceive — as the Democrats said — we rate this claim Half True.
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