Disbarred attorney Andrew Thomas says he will target Maricopa County corruption

June 06, 2012

Former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas talks about the government corruption he says led to his disbarment and why he thinks Arizona needs Proposition 115.

Thomas says Prop 115 will make the judiciary more accountable to the people, but it’s not a cure-all for the system or the government. He works with Citizens for Clean Courts to get the propositions passed and believes that the governor should have more choice when it comes to court judges.

Thomas says that the government is steeped in corruption, and that whistleblowers are punished. He believes that the reason he was disbarred was because he prosecuted a judge, and the judiciary decided prosecuting a judge was unacceptable. Thomas says the results of his trial were decided before he entered the courtroom. He also claims an unnamed witness told him the presiding judge blatantly said the trial's result was fixed.

Thomas says Arizona has a legacy of putting prosecutors on trial when there is no wrongdoing, and when someone has the court on their side they can get away with anything. He says that he paid a high for targeting corruption, and if the courts continue unchecked Arizona faces Third World corruption.