Internal emails obtained by Fox News Digital reveal that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes’ office repeatedly turned to two prominent left-wing legal organizations, the ACLU and the Prison Law Office (PLO), for recruiting assistance with key roles within the state’s Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR). This outreach occurred even though these groups have a history of suing the ADCRR, and Mayes’ own Chief Deputy Attorney General, Daniel Barr, previously spent years litigating alongside them in a federal case that found Arizona’s prison conditions constitutionally inadequate. Barr, before joining Mayes’ office, was a partner at Perkins Coie, where he collaborated with the ACLU and PLO. The emails show Barr directly soliciting recommendations for attorneys to handle ADCRR work and later for the critical position of ADCRR general counsel from representatives of these organizations, which advocate for substantial reductions in incarceration and prison populations. Despite Mayes positioning herself as a ‘moderate’ and having previously sparred with these same groups over issues like border security laws and police filming, her top deputy was actively seeking their input for legal hires. One ACLU representative even noted that a potential candidate they suggested was ‘enjoying suing ADCRR in civil rights damages cases in her spare time,’ highlighting the potential conflict of interest in seeking recruitment help from groups with adversarial histories against the state corrections department.
Adapted from: Latest Political News on Fox News
