Parker Live News from the Parker Strip since 2009.
A former La Paz County Attorney, hired by the town of Quartzsite council and now serving as its Town Attorney, has been formally reprimanded by the Arizona Supreme Court.
Martin Brannan’s reprimand stems from an incident that occurred while he was serving as Chief Deputy Apache County Attorney several months ago:
[Brannan and Whiting,]… in their capacity as county attorney and chief deputy county attorney, authorized county investigators to interview a criminal defendant (who was incarcerated and represented by counsel) to ascertain whether or not the defendant had been advised by his attorney of the pending plea offer. Respondent Brannan erroneously believed that pursuant to Montejo v. Louisiana, 129 S.Ct. 2079 (Louisiana 2009), it would be permissible to interview the defendant regarding the plea as long as the investigators “Mirandized” the defendant and he waived his right to have his counsel present. The defendant’s attorney did not receive advanced notice of the visit and was not present during the visit.
The judge in the case released the murder suspect saying his rights had been violated by Brannan and Whiting.
Respondent Brannon’s misconduct as described above constituted grounds for the imposition of discipline pursuant to the Rules of the Supreme Court of Arizona and violated Rule 42, ER 4.2 (communications with person represented by counsel).
Respondents’ negligent misconduct caused actual harm to the legal system.
The following factors were found in aggravation: 9.22(i) (substantial experience in the practice of law).
The following factors were found in mitigation: 9.32(a) (absence of prior disciplinary offenses), 9.32(b) (absence of selfish or dishonest motive), and 9.32(e) (full and free disclosure to a disciplinary board or cooperative attitude).
The judgment can be found here.
Mmmmmmm. He’s PERFECT for Quartzsite! Maybe he’s preparing to take over Dan Fields position when he “retires?”
So a murderer walks and Brannon pays a wopping $1,380.00 fine…Where is the accountability these days?
I am sure the victims of the deceased feel so much better now….
These are the people who are administering justice in your county, how does that make you feel sanger1?
Roth,
You have another one to kick out of Quartzsite. Who hired this guy?
Is Brannon the one who gives legal advice to lock doors and arrest Jones? Must be Gilberts friend or lacky.
Good luck.
M,
You know the deal! Why are you trying to draw me into this legal muck?
How’s your Dan Field project going?
wow great idea QTZ town council had bringing Martin on board, Just the right kind of attorney they need to tell them what’s right/wrong. What zone do you people come from? You can’t even hire an attorney that isn’t a […..] himself……….go figure.
I think you may mean “hasn’t been reprimanded..” -JW
getoverit,
Pretty sad, huh? You do know Quartzsite is built on an Ancient Indian Burial Grounds, don’t you?
It may be built on an ancient white guy burial grounds.
True! Whatever happened, I’m sure it has a bad “born on” date!
hey, the qtown.us guy, doug puts it all together….. gilbert got his close friend brannon the job as town lawyer. brannon violated someones rights in st johns and probably doing same in quartzsite. damaged goods. both got to go.
SOA,
They ALL gotta go!
Don’t Re-Elect Anybody!!!!
Vote No Incumbents!!!!!
Throw The Bums Out!!!!
WHEN I WAS IN GRAMMAR SCHOOL, I REMEMBER A CLASSROOM BANNER WHICH READ AS FOLLOWS: 1. IS IT THE TRUTH? 2. IS IT FAIR TO ALL CONCERNED? 3. WILL IT BUILD GOODWILL AND BETTER FRIENDSHIPS? 4. WILL IT BE BENEFICIAL TO ALL CONCERNED?
YEARS LATER, I DISCOVERED THAT THOSE QUESTIONS ARE REFERRED TO AS “THE FOUR WAY TEST”, AND ARE DISPLAYED AND RECITED AT ROTARY INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS AROUND THE WORLD, EVEN HERE IN PARKER.
IN ACTUALITY, THE ONLY QUESTION THAT NEEDS TO BE ASKED IS QUESTION NUMBER ONE, NAMELY: “IS IT THE TRUTH? IF IT IS INDEED THE TRUTH, THE REMAINING THREE QUESTIONS SHOULD NOT HAVE TO BE ASKED.
HERE’S THE PROBLEM. THE TRUTH APPEARS TO BE ONLY A VAPOR IN LA PAZ COUNTY GOVERNMENT. EVEN THOUGH SEVERAL OF OUR SO-CALLED “LEADERS” RECITE THE “FOUR WAY TEST” EVERY WEEK, THE WORDS SEEM TO BE QUICKLY FORGOTTEN THE MOMENT THEY ARE SPOKEN, WHICH IS EVIDENCED BY THE SITUATION THAT WE ARE IN TODAY.
SUPERVISOR DRUM HAS MADE IT PUBLICLY CLEAR THAT HE CONSIDERS ME PART OF THE “LITTLE NUCLEUS OF CANCER”, ALL BECAUSE I, AND A FEW OTHERS, HAVE THE AUDACITY TO PUBLICLY ASSERT OUR FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS. THE QUOTE ABOVE CAME FROM THE LA PAZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISOR’S MEETING ON JUNE 20TH, 2011, AND IS ENTIRELY REPRESENTATIVE AS TO HOW HE FEELS ABOUT ANYONE WHO DISAGREES WITH HIM. HERE’S SOMETHING FOR YOU TO CONSIDER: WEREN’T THE JEWS A TYPE OF “CANCER” TO ADOLF HITLER? HMMM!
AS WE ALL KNOW, THE LA PAZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS RECENTLY LAID OFF AT LEAST 13 EMPLOYEES, YET RETAINED THE ABSOLUTELY USELESS “PARK RANGER” POSITIONS TO THE TUNE OF ALMOST $100,000 A YEAR TO LA PAZ COUNTY TAXPAYERS. EVEN THOUGH THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THIS COMPLETE AND IRRESPONSIBLE WASTE OF TAX DOLLARS, THIS BOARD CONSISTANTLY TURNS A DEAF EAR TO ANY AND ALL WHO DARE TO PRESENT A REASONABLE OBJECTION.
THIS PAST WEEKEND, ON MY SCANNER, I HEARD DISPATCH SEND THE UPRIVER DEPUTY TO PATRIA FLATS IN REFERENCE TO A GRAFFITI COMPLAINT THERE. THE DEPUTY REQUESTED DISPATCH TO CONTACT THE “PARK RANGER”, BUT WAS TOLD THAT SHE WOULD HAVE TO FIRST CONTACT THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, BECAUSE THE “PARK RANGER” WAS NOT ON DUTY THAT DAY, NEITHER WAS THE BOARD. SO EXACTLY WHAT DOES THE “PARK RANGER” DO? NO ONE REALLY KNOWS, OTHER THAN HE ANSWERS DIRECTLY TO THE COUNTY MANAGER AND COLLECTS A HEFTY SALARY FOR BASICALLY NOTHING IN RETURN, OTHER THAN PAID TRANSPORTATION FROM CIBOLA TO PARKER AND BACK.
THE THREE LA PAZ COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS EACH DRAW A SALARY OF APPROXIMATELY $64,000 TAX DOLLARS A YEAR. THE COUNTY MANAGER DRAWS APPROX. $107,000 TAX DOLLARS A YEAR. THE “PARK RANGER” POSITION IS PAID SOMEWHERE AROUND $60,000 DOLLARS A YEAR. I’VE HEARD THAT PART OF THAT IS GRANT FUNDED, BUT SOMEONE’S BEING TAXED FOR IT, IT CERTAINLY IS NOT FREE. THE TOTAL FOR THE ABOVE SALARIES IS APPROX. $359,000 DOLLARS.
RATHER THAN SEND 13 MORE FAMILIES TO THE BREADLINE, HOW ABOUT CUTTING THE UNNECESSARY COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR’S POSITION AND THE CERTAINLY UNNECESSARY “PARK RANGER” POSITION AND SAVE APPROX. $167,000 DOLLARS A YEAR, OR PUT THOSE LAID OFF BACK TO WORK? OH, I’M SORRY, I FORGOT THAT COMMON SENSE, REASON AND LOGIC DO NOT APPLY TO THIS BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, ONLY SPECIAL INTERESTS.
TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTEND AN OCCASSIONAL BOARD OF SUPERVISOR’S MEETING, HAVE YOU NOTICED THAT NO COUNTY EMPLOYEES, EVER, SPEAK AT “CALL TO THE PUBLIC” AS TO THEIR CONCERNS AS EMPLOYEES AND RESIDENTS OF THIS COUNTY? THIS IS WHY YOU SEE ANONYMOUS NAMES AND MONIKERS ON VARIOUS BLOGS AND POSTS, WITH VERY FEW ACTUAL NAMES.
THE REASONS FOR THIS SHOULD BE OBVIOUS. AS A FORMER COUNTY EMPLOYEE OF OVER 20 YEARS, I TOO WAS RELUCTANT TO SPEAK OPENLY, FOR FEAR OF REPRISAL. I NEEDED MY JOB, SO I DID NOT SPEAK OUT. WELL, NOW IT’S MY TURN! OVER THE YEARS, I HAVE WATCHED THOSE IN HIGH PLACES, EVEN AT THE LOCAL JUSTICE COURT, AS SPECIAL INTERESTS WERE GIVEN PRIORITY OVER OTHERS. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
ON PAGE 5 OF THIS WEEK’S PARKER PIONEER, THERE IS A “NOTICE OF TAX INCREASE”, TELLING TAXPAYERS THAT LA PAZ COUNTY IS INTENDING TO RAISE PROPERTY TAXES. THE ARTICLE USES THE WORD “PROPOSED” THREE TIMES. IT ALSO SAYS, IN PART:…“THE INCREASE IS…”, INDICATING THAT THIS IS GOING TO HAPPEN, EVEN THOUGH THERE IS GOING TO BE A PUBLIC HEARING, SCHEDULED FOR MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2011, AT 1:30 PM AT THE BOARD ROOM.
ONE-THIRTY PM. PERFECT TIMING AS USUAL! RIGHT WHEN MOST PEOPLE ARE WORKING AND UNABLE TO ATTEND. HOW ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN IN THE EVENING? LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, I SUBMIT TO YOU THAT THE TIMING OF THIS MEETING IS STRICTLY BY DESIGN, AS ARE REGULAR MEETINGS. THE BOARD COUNTS ON A SMALL TURNOUT, SO THEY WILL NOT HAVE TO FACE RESISTANCE FROM THE PEOPLE.
MARK MY WORDS…THE TAX INCREASE WILL TAKE PLACE, MEETING OR NO MEETING! WATCH! PROOF ONCE AGAIN THAT TAXPAYERS IN LA PAZ COUNTY HAVE LITTLE OR NO EFFECT ON ANY PREDETERMINED OUTCOME. RENTERS, THIS AFFECTS YOU TOO. AS YOUR LANDLORD’S TAXES GO UP, SO WILL YOUR RENT.
EVERYONE THAT POSSIBLY CAN, SHOULD ATTEND THIS MEETING ON AUGUST 1ST. CARPOOL IF NECESSARY. PLAN NOW ON HOW YOU WILL BE ABLE TO GET THERE. THIS BOARD HAS ALLOWED THIS 14 MILLION DOLLAR LAWSUIT TO BECOME WHAT IT IS TODAY. THERE ARE OTHER WAYS TO FIND THE MONEY WITHOUT BREAKING OUR FINANCIAL BACKS TO PAY FOR THEIR IRRESPONSIBLE DECISIONS.
SEE, THE “FOUR WAY TEST” DOES NOT APPLY TO LA PAZ COUNTY!
NOTE: PLEASE FEEL FREE TO POST ACCURATE CORRECTIONS TO THIS LETTER.
KING CLAPPERTON
LA PAZ COUNTY TAXPAYER…PAYER…PAYER…PAYER
August 1st, huh? I’ll see if I can make it. It certainly is important for any and all La Paz County residents to attend. The more the merrier!!! I’ll call a few of my friends and see if they want to see first hand how the Supervisors screw us with taxes. See you then. Be there or be square!!!
LaPaz County Board of Supervisors, You Suck! (BTW, great job Dan Field!)
“M”, are you going to be there? I’d love to meet you in person and talk local politics!!!
hey has anyone heard that that brannon fired 10 cops in quartzsite today , what is going on there. revolution. they got to go . everyone must go to town meeting, gibert is gone
It’s true! Only the Brown Nosers still have their jobs!!! Gilbert and Taft are collapsing faster than Building 7!
First of all, is anyone perfect?! Do you have a job? If so.. can anyone ask your boss if you’ve done anything completely perfectly/correctly? The cops were not fired, just put on administrative leave. Golden rule.. maybe silver, THINK BEFORE YOU SPEAK.. (in this case.. think before you type)
Hey some girl, Mayor Ed Foster is the one telling reporters they were fired, or about to be fired. I was simply repeating what was reported.
I guess you turned out to be wrong big time…The whole point of what has been happening with the Council was to get on top of those that have been causing problems “Some Girl”. Instead, they have not only failed themselves, but those who supported them when the AZ AG now has made a statement that they broke certain laws and maybe more. Where did they get their advice from? The same person the High Court just reprimanded…weird. Now, we will see what happens not only to the council but Mr. Brannan.