APAAC Appellate Prosecutor Award Recipients

This year Scott Simon argued State v. Sammantha Allen in the Arizona Supreme Court, a capital case in which this defendant and her husband, John Allen, were convicted of murder and sentenced to death for killing Sammantha Allen’s 10-year-old niece by locking her inside a small storage box overnight in an unconditioned room during the summer in Phoenix.  Scott was incredibly well-prepared for the argument, which was a difficult task because the defendant raised 19 separate issues for the court’s review.  Scott’s work on the case resulted in an opinion affirming the defendant’s convictions and death sentence, and which addressed numerous legal issues, including admission of the defendant’s and co-defendant’s statements, jury selection issues, joinder of offenses for trial, duplicitous charges, sufficiency of evidence, and whether jury unanimity is required when addressing a defendant’s eligibility for a capital sentence.  Scott has also contributed to or briefed several capital habeas responses in district court over the last year.  Capital habeas petitions are routinely hundreds of pages long and raise dozens of claims—Scott’s work output in drafting responses to multiple capital habeas petitions this year has been outstanding.

Rural county attorney offices rely on the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AG) to handle most appeals. Occasionally, an appeal will fall outside what the AG will handle. Navajo County had such a case, State v. Wilson, that involved a determination if Rule 7.2(c) applied to probation revocation cases and received national media attention. Michael Shumway handled the appeal and argued the case in front of the Arizona Supreme Court. His efforts resulted in a determination that a defendant on a probation violation can be held without bond pursuant to Rule 7.2(c)

Julie Done joined the Maricopa County Attorney Office Capital Litigation Bureau in 2019, after more than twelve years with the Attorney General’s Office where she worked in their Capital Litigation and Criminal Appeals sections. Ms.Done has drafted multiple Special Actions, Responses and Petitions for Review. She has participated in oral argument before the Arizona Supreme Court and has also drafted amicus briefs in pending appellate litigation. She assists on cases throughout the bureau, including taking a leadership position on the Miller / Montgomery (juvenile life) cases. Her contributions are not only helpful to the office but impact justice for victims statewide as several of her cases have had helpful opinions published.

Terry Crist has been an Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Appeals Section for nearly seven years. He is assigned some of the most challenging cases and can always be counted upon to do an outstanding job. He is a tremendous writer and an exceptional oral advocate. In 2019, Mr. Crist briefed and argued in State v. Arias, a high-profile murder case in which Arias’s appellate counsel raised six issues, including numerous claims of prosecutorial misconduct. He did a masterful job of defending the prosecutor and the conviction. Mr. Crist also briefed and argued Crespin v. Ryan in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court was very active during oral argument, and Mr. Crist did an effective job of answering the judges’ questions and defending the sentence.

Andrew Reilly is an Assistant Attorney General in the Capital Litigation Section, where he is a flawless writer and excels at oral argument. In the past year, Mr. Reilly filed numerous briefs in the Superior Court, the Arizona Supreme Court, the U.S. District Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and the U.S. Supreme Court. He also argued before the Arizona Court of Appeals and the Arizona Supreme Court. He took the lead in defending Arizona’s capital-sentencing statutes in the U.S. Supreme Court against a high-profile facial challenge in Hidalgo v. Arizona. He briefed and argued the case of State v. Sanders in the Arizona Supreme Court. Mr. Reilly’s tremendous natural talent and superior work ethic is an asset to the Arizona prosecution community.

Ginger Jarvis is an Assistant Attorney General in the Capital Litigation Section, representing the State in capital cases at all levels of state and federal review. Ms. Jarvis is an outstanding appellate advocate and a dedicated champion of victims’ rights. In the past year, She filed numerous briefs in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States District Court and argued before the Arizona Supreme Court. Ms. Jarvis is an asset to the Attorney General’s Office and to the Arizona prosecution community.