Criminal justice reform in AZ is not only hampered by overly zealous prosecutors and police, but also through systemic blocks that allow prosecutors free range to lobby in multiple platforms while using "county policies" to keep public defenders from speaking from experience....

In AZ, each CA in 15 counties is elected. Elected officials are allowed to lobby on the clock. And identify themselves as prosecutors, giving experience and credibility to their positions. B/C pubic defenders are appointed, they are bound by a separate policy banning advocacy.

Meaning that public defenders may not publicly lobby for criminal justice reform initiatives or against mandatory minimums while on the clock nor can they identify themselves as a public defender with the weight of their personal experience behind them.

Instead, public defenders who wish to testify must take vacation time and cannot identify of advocate from their role as public servants. This silences the strongest voices to challenge the power of prosecutors.

Meanwhile, Prosecutors can form coalitions and lobby as well as lobby directly. So if the prosecutor's coalition participates in stakeholder meetings and makes agreements, individual county attorneys are not bound by the good faith agreement.

So Arizona has tied the hands of the largest group of attorneys who represent clients in the criminal justice system while giving prosecutors unlimited power. So when you wonder why it's so hard to move forward, it's because the State and county system wants it that way.