Law school was a process which I never want to think about again. The steps to becoming an attorney are painstaking and arduous. So am I wrong to celebrate the disbarment of former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas? Nah.
Thomas was an utter disgrace to Arizona and a cancer to the criminal justice system. Among his most celebrated accomplishments; arresting a judge who was his political enemy so the judge could not rule against him. The damage that he did to Phoenix’s courts will take years to fix. He cultivated a mentality among some prosecutors which favored dishonesty and gamesmanship; things that have no role in our criminal justice system and which erode the integrity of the judicial process. These ‘Thomas minions’ will now need to be weeded out one by one if there is any hope to restoring the relationships between prosecutors, criminal defense attorneys, and the court. Healing takes time and scars are sure to be present as lasting reminders of the Andrew Thomas tumor that had to be cut out from the Bar.
So while his career comes to an end – as he continues to appeal and cling to his license like Wile E. Coyote holding onto the edge of a cliff – it may be a dark day for Andrew Thomas, but it is also enlightening for the rest of the attorneys in the world of Phoenix’s criminal justice system.
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