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    Home » AG Brnovich Issues Legal Opinion on the Authority of State and Local Officials to Enforce Violations of Lawful Emergency Declarations Issued by Cities and Towns
    Arizona

    AG Brnovich Issues Legal Opinion on the Authority of State and Local Officials to Enforce Violations of Lawful Emergency Declarations Issued by Cities and Towns

    April 1, 2020No Comments
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    Attorney General of the State of ArizonaPhoenix AZ (April 1, 2020) – Attorney General Mark Brnovich issued a formal legal opinion today regarding the lawful authority of local law enforcement and county sheriffs to enforce emergency declarations. In short, the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) concluded that local law enforcement officials and county sheriffs have authority under A.R.S. § 26–316 to enforce provisions of lawful emergency declarations issued by cities and towns, as long as they are consistent with orders, rules and regulations promulgated by the governor.

    Sen. Paul Boyer recently posed the following question to the AGO:

    If a city or town issues a lawful emergency declaration, what authority do local law enforcement and county sheriffs have to enforce such declarations?

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    Under A.R.S. § 26–317, individuals who knowingly fail or refuse to obey a lawful order under the emergency management laws may be guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor. In exercising such authority, however, law enforcement officials must continue to be mindful of constitutional rights and should execute their duties in a manner that promotes justice.
     
    Many cities and towns in Arizona have issued emergency declarations in response to public health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic under the authority granted to them in A.R.S. § 26–311. This statute generally allows “the mayor of an incorporated city or town or the chairman of the board of supervisors” to declare an emergency and impose necessary regulations “to preserve the peace and order” but it “shall not be inconsistent with orders, rules and regulations promulgated by the governor[.]”
      
    The opinion concludes that while individuals who knowingly fail or refuse to obey a lawful order under the emergency management laws may be guilty of a class 1 misdemeanor, law enforcement agencies must take care to maintain constitutional safeguards that exist to protect individual rights and fundamental liberties.  Similarly, just as Arizona’s health authorities should not issue unjust or discriminatory public health orders, state and local law enforcement agencies must continue to enforce the law in a manner that promotes justice.

    A copy of the full opinion can be found here.

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    The Symbolism of Jan. 6

    By Tommy Acosta
    Don’t mess with symbols. Just ask author Dan Brown’s character Robert Landon. The worth of symbols cannot be measured. Symbols make the world-go-round. Symbols carry the weight of a thousand words and meanings. Symbols represent reality boiled down to the bone. Symbols evoke profound emotions and memories—at a very primal level of our being—often without our making rational or conscious connections. They fuel our imagination. Symbols enable us to access aspects of our existence that cannot be accessed in any other way. Symbols are used in all facets of human endeavor. One can only feel sorry for those who cannot comprehend the government’s response to the breech of the capital on January 6, with many, even pundits, claiming it was only a peaceful occupation. Regardless if one sees January 6 as a full-scale riot/insurrection or simply patriotic Americans demonstrating as is their right, the fact is the individuals involved went against a symbol, and this could not be allowed or go unpunished. Read more→
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