Heat City

A pair of bomb threats shut down part of Maricopa County’s main courthouse this morning, about five weeks after a string of similar threats disrupted the local justice system over several days.

Two separate threats were made to one of the court’s main towers, known as the East Court Building, sometime after it opened this morning, according to the court’s highest ranking judge, Barbara Rodriguez Mundell.

A federal grand jury is examining possible criminal charges against Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, according to reports by two Phoenix television stations.

KPHO (Channel 5) and KPNX (Channel 12) both reported during their evening broadcasts that a grand jury is looking into accusations that Arpaio has abused his law enforcement power with criminal investigations of critics and political foes. The sheriff’s No. 2 man, Chief Deputy David Hendershott, is also targeted in the investigation, KPNX reported.

The stations said two of Maricopa County’s top appointed officials, County Manager David Smith and County Budget Director Sandi Wilson, received subpoenas to appear before the grand jury next week.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gary Donahoe will get to breathe a little easier for the next couple of months.

A judge in neighboring Pinal County today put a temporary halt to the criminal case against him by Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Arizona Republic reported. The case is now on hold until the state Supreme Court decides whether to toss the charges for good.

Thomas and Arpaio have accused Donahoe, one of the most powerful judges in Maricopa County, of obstructing justice and taking bribes because he ruled against them in cases earlier this year.

A woman holds up a sign Monday outside of Maricopa County’s main courthouse as part of a large protest against prosecutor Andrew Thomas. Photo by Nick R. Martin

In his political campaigns, Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas has fashioned himself as a man of law, a prosecutor offering no tolerance to those who step past certain boundaries.

But on Monday, hundreds of lawyers gathered in front of the county’s main courthouse in downtown Phoenix to tell Thomas they believe he has crossed a line himself with his an ongoing war against some of the area’s most-powerful judges.

In recent weeks, the prosecutor has launched criminal investigations or leveled felony charges against several Superior Court judges, mostly for decisions they made from the bench.

“By your very conduct, Mr. Thomas, you have become a threat to the rule of law and to the very Constitution you swore to uphold,” attorney Tom Ryan shouted into the microphone, raising cheers and applause from the crowd. “You have made yourself a domestic enemy to our Constitution.”

In their inquiry into alleged corruption in Maricopa County, sheriff’s investigators have begun this week to ask questions about the State Bar of Arizona, the agency that licenses every lawyer in the state.

Investigators asked at least one former judge to answer questions about whether he has worked with the State Bar to file complaints against Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas, a close ally of Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

According to a letter [PDF] obtained Wednesday by the Phoenix New Times, the sheriff’s office asked former Superior Court Judge Colin Campbell to respond to questions about the bar and a number of ongoing county disputes by 5 p.m. today.