Thomas asks judge to end special courts

Maricopa County’s top prosecutor on Wednesday threatened to sue Superior Court if it doesn’t end drunken-driving courts tailored for Spanish speakers and American Indians.

Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas gave Maricopa County Superior Court Presiding Judge Barbara Rodriguez Mundell until Jan. 11 to send him word on whether she is going to disband the courts.

Mundell said in a letter to Thomas that is not enough time.

"Certainly, you will agree that constitutional issues require careful thought and thorough legal analysis," Mundell wrote.

Thomas has for weeks called the specialty courts unconstitutional, but to back up his position he now has the written legal analysis of a Washington, D.C., lawyer who is an expert in constitutional law and was President Bush’s lead lawyer in the 2000 Florida recount controversy.

Thomas, a Republican elected in 2004, said the analysis of Michael Carvin, characterized by Law.com as a "veteran of Republican politics," was not made to order. Mundell, who received the ultimatum in a hand-delivered letter Wednesday, declined an interview request.

She has said for weeks that the federally funded courts are constitutional because they are not "courts of record" where each written and spoken word is documented and must be spoken in English.

The Spanish DUI and Indian DUI courts are really rehabilitation programs for convicted DUI offenders on probation, said Mundell, who takes the bench in the Spanish court once a month.

Thomas is required by law to staff the courts with prosecutors. Carvin’s 32-page analysis says that the "segregated courts offend the Constitution and laws of the United States."

The analysis states that the Spanish DUI court constitutes "discrimination on the basis of race and nationality," and violates the First Amendment because inadequate translation services leave the public, victims and the news media unable to understand and participate.

The Indian court is illegal because only the federal government, not local governments, can treat Indians differently, the analysis says.

And both courts violate certain federal anti-discrimination statutes and the "due process right of equal access to courts," the analysis states.

Thomas said Carvin would represent his office if the issue goes to court. The county hasn’t been billed for Carvin’s services yet, but the contract calls for the law firm of Jones Day to be paid hourly rates of $440, $342 and $112 for senior partners, associates and legal assistants, respectively.