I have spent the past two days with the town Legal Department. They are a terrific group of lawyers who work each day protecting the town from criminals or shady business deals. I began on Tuesday in the Civil department.
Civil law deals with things that center around private companies or businesses and their dealings with the town. During my visit it was dealing primarily with development and the building of a new subdivision in North Marana. I spent the day with Frank Cassidy, the Town Attorney, while he worked on a development agreement with the new developer of that plot of land. They have been sending this document back and forth changing details and points that were in the best interest of each side. While it may seem simple since it was two entities that are trying to agree, it was much more complicated. The developer wanted specific claims and leeway that are not always in the best interest of the town. Marana is committed to growth and development, and is very business friendly, but it does not mean they are going to give up any rights to public land or facilities.
PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION LESSON: (skip if not a total government nerd, like myself)
Some of the new developments in the town are on what are called Community Facilities Districts, which are monitored by the Mayor and Council acting as a Board of Directors. These districts are separately taxed and those funds go back into maintenance of public land like roads, sidewalks and parks. The residents of these neighborhoods are paying for their own upkeep through property taxes. Accountability and responsibility built into the system, just what a I like to see!
While these districts are great, they do complicate the development agreements just a little bit. Since they are technically a distinct entity from the town, there has to be an intergovernmental agreement in addition to the development agreement, which is all included in one document. PHEW!! As you can see there is a ton that goes into just one agreement on one subdivision.
Yesterday I spent the day in Marana Municipal Court with Laine Sklar, the Assistant Town Attorney, prosecuting misdemeanors. Well, Laine prosecuted. I observed. Vickie was on rotation with the Judge Charles Davies, so we both were in the same division of the town. While I saw how the pleas are created and agreed to, Vickie saw how the judge makes his decisions and when he makes a change.
The town does not prosecute felonies, so yesterday was primarily shoplifting, DUIs, domestic violence, and driving with a suspended license. I saw arraignments, probation hearings/updates, and plea bargains. Laine was fair and gave each defendant the chance to take her deal or take the case to trial. There were only two incidences where a defense attorney was present, which seemed to be the norm.
The probation officer was also present in the courtroom and had updates on community service, diversion course completion and other requirements defendants had to meet in order to avoid a warrant. Lesson: don’t commit a crime…
I really enjoyed these rotations. These are areas that I did not study when I was in school, and being exposed to the criminal and civil proceedings was a great experience. Learning how the laws and procedures work gave me much more insight into how the town has developed. The development agreements dealing with growth and prosecution protecting the town and keeping with stable community values.
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