Conservative author and political novice Andrew Thomas easily whipped his Democratic opponent in the race for Maricopa County Attorney.

The restraint chairs that have been linked to up to three inmate deaths in Maricopa County’s jails have been replaced by a new piece of furniture.

The restraint chairs that have been linked to up to three inmate deaths in Maricopa County’s jails have been replaced by a new piece of furniture.

Editor’s Note: This is the second part of the top 20 news stories for Maricopa in 2007.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer has announced the appointment of Assistant Attorney General Boyd Dunn to the Maricopa County Superior Court.

In 1987, when Timothy Ryan graduated from law school at the University of Arizona and began practicing law in Mesa, the Maricopa County Superior Court’s office in Mesa included two judges in a strip mall.

A judge refused late Thursday to stop the state from refusing to provide health care to some people below the federal poverty level.

Queen Creek will take a second stab at annexing 642 acres of Maricopa County land after a lawsuit filed by landowners prompted town officials to drop their first attempt in May.

Paper files are quickly becoming extinct at Maricopa County Superior Court, which will make the legal process more efficient and less expensive, officials said.

The sign for the Family Lawyers Assistance Project is handwritten and taped at the entrance. Some chairs, a fake plant, a filing cabinet and a phone on an empty desk make up the waiting area. And county wall maps complete the ensemble.

The Gilbert family whose special-needs daughter had both of her legs broken in 2006 does not have to pay court costs the Gilbert Unified School District was seeking.

The Gilbert family whose special-needs daughter had two of her legs broken in 2006 does not have to pay court costs the Gilbert Unified School District was seeking.

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.

New statewide family court rules taking effect Jan. 1 are designed to make divorce cases less like "fighting fire with gasoline."

New statewide family court rules taking effect Jan. 1 are designed to make divorce cases less like "fighting fire with gasoline."

A family’s plea for help prevented a Mesa man accused of slitting his mother’s throat from walking free from a mental hospital.

A family’s plea for help prevented a Mesa man accused of slitting his mother’s throat from walking free from a mental hospital.

Gov. Janet Napolitano on Tuesday chose Phoenix attorney and political ally Scott Bales to be the 40th justice of the Arizona Supreme Court.

After a week off, the Arizona State women’s basketball team gets back on the court tonight for the first of two games in its own tournament.

Three family members of Ted Williams filed a lawsuit Thursday against Alcor Life Extension Foundation, demanding it produce paperwork showing the baseball icon wanted his remains frozen at the Scottsdale cryonics facility.

Three family members of Ted Williams filed a lawsuit Thursday against Alcor Life Extension Foundation, demanding it produce paperwork showing the baseball icon wanted his remains frozen at the Scottsdale cryonics facility.

A trial is under way for a Scottsdale woman charged in connection with the high-profile case of missing Baby Gabriel Johnson, while the trial for the mother of the missing child remains months away.

Judge Dean M. Fink will officially join the Maricopa County Superior Court bench on Tuesday.