BREAKING NEWS: TCFC has obtained the State Bar Complaint against Conover that raise substantial issues of misconduct

BAR COMPLAINT AGAINST PIMA COUNTY ATTORNEY LAURA CONOVER

CONOVER IS THE FIRST PIMA COUNTY ATTORNEY TO BE ENTERED INTO A DIVERSION PROGRAM TRIGGERED BY MISCONDUCT

 TCFC has obtained the Bar Complaint filed by David Berkman to “report misconduct, including a number of ethical violations, committed by Pima County Attorney Laura Conover that raise substantial issues of misconduct.” (Conover refused to release this content of the complaint)

This is the complaint that resulted in the DIVERSION Agreement Laura Conover entered into with the State Bar as an alternative to DISCIPLINARY ACTION.

“Specifically, Ms. Conover’s prior and ongoing violations of the Supreme Court’s Ethical Rules involve: conflict of interest, interference with a client’s authority in settlement negotiations, making false statements, failure to adequately manage and supervise a subordinate practicing law, lack of competence, lack of diligence, conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, and unprofessional conduct.”

CONDENSED BACKGROUND (EXCERPTS FROM THE FULL DOCUMENT, ALL QUOTED) (link to full document):

Ms. Conover has a conflict of interest that prevents her and subordinates in her office from representing Pima County or the State of Arizona in cases adverse to Louis Taylor relating to murders committed by Mr. Taylor at the Pioneer Hotel. Nevertheless, Ms. Conover has attempted to insert herself into both the civil and criminal cases on this very matter, purportedly on behalf of Pima County and the State of Arizona. Her conflict should have prevented her from involving herself in either case.

Mr. Taylor was arrested in 1970, tried before a jury, and found guilty of 28 counts of felony murder predicated on him committing arson at the Pioneer Hotel in Tucson, intentionally

causing a deadly fire that killed 29 hotel patrons (one of whom died after the criminal case was already in progress). After the jury in his case found Mr. Taylor guilty of the murder of 28 victims, he was sentenced by the Maricopa County Superior Court to terms of imprisonment that would likely extend beyond his lifetime.

Later, there were several series of post-conviction proceedings over a period of decades in which Mr. Taylor’s conviction was re-evaluated and repeatedly upheld. During one of those periods, in or around 2002-2005, Ms. Conover did legal research on behalf of Mr. Taylor which she has now denied in a recent press release. In a January 6,2020 post on her campaign web page Ms. Conover was asked if she had ever met Louis Taylor .

She stated:

“Yes sir I have . On several occasions. During law school I was able to provide a little legal research to prepare for one parole hearing, but it was sadly minimal as I was only a student. Felt powerless to help. That feeling has stayed with me. I still pray for Louis.”

In 2013, there was a new round of post-conviction proceedings presented by Mr. Taylor’s legal team that resolved with Mr. Taylor pleading no contest to 28 counts of felony murder. His guilt was affirmed at his change of plea hearing by the Superior Court based upon specific findings of fact that were put on the record. There was no objection by Mr. Taylor or his legal team to anyof those findings of fact, nor to the Court’s judgment of guilt based upon those facts. Mr. Taylor was then sentenced by the Court, under his 28 new convictions, to a total of 42 years in prison. Because Mr. Taylor had, by then, already served 42 years in prison, he was released from prison custody.

Mr. Taylor did not initiate any further post-conviction proceedings in his criminal case following his 2013 convictions and sentencing.

However, Mr. Taylor filed a civil suit against Pima County and the City of Tucson in federal court( No. 15-CV-00152-TUC-RM ) claiming there had been civil rights violations in connection with his convictions and sentences, seeking millions of dollars in money damages from Pima County and the City of Tucson. His claim also included a claim for attorneys fees which are substantial.

Mr. Taylor’s federal civil case against Pima County was pending when Ms. Conover was running for the office of Pima County Attorney and remains pending to this day. Pima County has vigorously denied Mr. Taylor’s claims and defended against his lawsuit.

Advocating publicly for Mr. Taylor was politically advantageous for Ms. Conover, attracting funds for her campaign as well as Democratic voters for her as a candidate.

Based upon her working on Taylor’s behalf while in law school in the criminal case in which he was convicted of 28 counts of murder arising out of the Pioneer Hotel fire, and based upon public statements she made in support of Mr. Taylor’s claims against Pima County, Ms. Conover has a direct conflict of interest that precludes her from switching sides to represent Pima County in Mr. Taylor’s civil case against the County or represent the State in any post convictionproceeding that might be pursued in Mr. Taylor’s criminal case.

Ms. Conover’s conflict in the criminal case is significant beyond the fact that she previously worked on behalf of Taylor in his criminal case. The court of appeals in the civil case has indicated that compensatory damages are not available to Taylor UNLESS HIS CRIMINAL CASE IS OVERTURNED (emphasis added). In other words, post -conviction proceedings in Mr. Taylor ’s criminal case would directly and negatively affect the position of Pima County in the civil case.

Conover indicated as late as June of 2022 that she intended to attempt to overturn that conviction. That would have resulted in Pima County ( her client) being subject to millions of dollars in compensatory damages and her previous declaration that her former client should be compensated would have been realized.

On August 2, 2022 the Pima Board of Supervisors met in executive session and voted 4 to 1 to take certain action in the Louis Taylor case. The next day Ms. Conover did an about face and sent out a press release indicating that she found no evidence of innocence in the Taylor case and would not set aside his conviction. In that press release she falsely claimed that she never did any work on the Taylor case, that she had no conflict , that she was never aware of the previous administrations decision to send the Taylor case to outside counsel, and that she never took any action in the civil case detrimental to her client Pima County.

As will be demonstrated in this complaint each one of her statements were false.

Request for State Bar Investigation and Appropriate Remedial Action

I urge the State Bar of Arizona to fully investigate this matter, including but not limited to undertaking a thorough review of all the attached records, including emails, the contract between Pima County and Mr. Acedo, and federal court filings, as well as conducting interviews of Mr. Flagg, Ms. Nassen, Ms. Davis, Ms. LaWall, Ms. Cramer, Mr. Acedo, Ms.Coleen Clase (attorney for Taylor victims ) xxxx, and Ms. Conover. Following the completion of its

investigation, I urge the Bar to take appropriate remedial action as necessary to protect the public, to improve the administration of justice, and to assure the competency, ethics, and professionalism xxxxxxxxxxxx of Ms. Conover as a lawyer practicing in Arizona and manager of a large, public law office.

Sincerely,

David L.Berkman

CLICK HERE:  Full Text of Complaint Against Laura Conover

Below is a statement from Laura Conover’s campaign website from 2020 with her thoughts on the Louis Taylor case.

 CLICK HERE: https://www.kold.com/2019/12/21/survivors-firefighters-remember-deadly-pioneer-hotel-fire-four-decades-later/