Rachel Mitchell

Rachel Hope Mitchell (born 1967)[1] is an American attorney serving as the County Attorney for Maricopa County, Arizona since April 2022. She was appointed to the position following the resignation of Allister Adel and won the 2022 special election.[2] In 2019, she briefly served as the acting County Attorney after the appointment of Bill Montgomery to the Arizona Supreme Court.[3] Previously, she was the Chief Deputy County Attorney,[4] and chief of the Special Victims Division.[5]

Rachel Mitchell
County Attorney of Maricopa County
Assumed office
April 20, 2022
Preceded byAllister Adel
In office
September 5, 2019 – October 3, 2019
Acting
Preceded byBill Montgomery
Succeeded byAllister Adel
Personal details
Born1967 (age 55–56)
Political partyRepublican
EducationGrand Canyon University (BS)
Arizona State University (JD)

In 2018, Mitchell rose to national prominence when she was requested by the Senate Judiciary Committee to serve as Nomination Investigative Counsel and question both Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh on September 27, 2018, during Kavanaugh's widely publicized confirmation hearings for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[6][7][8][9]

Early life and education

Mitchell is a first-generation Arizonan whose father grew up on a farm in Arkansas and whose mother grew up in a small town in Pennsylvania. Mitchell attended Arizona State University in 1985, took a course at Phoenix College in the summer of 1987, and got a Bachelor of Science degree from Grand Canyon College, now known as Grand Canyon University.[10] She earned her J.D. degree in 1992 from the ASU's College of Law.[1]

Mitchell worked at the Arizona Capitol Times newspaper in the late 1980s. She interviewed candidates running for elected office and wrote summaries of decisions by the courts. Mitchell later worked as adjunct faculty at Grand Canyon University, where she taught a three-credit course on the court system.[1]

Mitchell has been a current, registered member of the Arizona bar since 1993.[11] In 2003, Mitchell was recognized by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as "Outstanding Arizona Sexual Assault Prosecutor of the Year." She was promoted to the Maricopa County prosecutor's office sex crimes division chief by newly elected county attorney Andrew Thomas in 2004 to replace previous chief Cindi Nannetti.[12]

Mitchell spent 12 years in charge of the sex-crimes bureau, which prosecutes crimes including adult sexual assault and child molestation.[13]

In 2014, a commission recommended her as a possible judicial candidate in Arizona.[14] Mitchell has overseen and assisted in prosecuting some high-profile sexual assault cases in Arizona, including ones against churches, youth camps, law enforcement, and members of clergy. Her most prominent case was the 2005 conviction of Rev. Paul LeBrun.[15][16][17][18] In her position in Maricopa County, she has advocated strengthening sex assault laws in the state and has pushed for changes in the courtroom to comfort victims testifying in abuse cases. Mitchell made headlines in 2016 after allowing a golden retriever mix named Sam to assist children when they were testifying about traumatic episodes.[19][20][21]

Mitchell's name appears on a list of Arizona "lobbyist updates" for the week of March 26, 2018.[22]

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings (2018)

In September 2018, Mitchell took a leave of absence from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in order to serve as Investigative Counsel for the Senate Judiciary Committee, during the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[23] She participated in the September 27, 2018 hearings of Christine Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh, concerning Ford's allegations of sexual assault towards Kavanaugh. Mitchell was brought in by the Republican senators in the committee, and questioned Ford and Kavanaugh.[6][7][8][9] The committee's Democratic senators questioned Ford and Kavanaugh themselves.[24] During the coverage of the hearing, CBS News described Mitchell as "a career prosecutor with decades of experience prosecuting sex crimes".[25]

Following the hearing, she issued a memorandum concluding a reasonable prosecutor would not file charges based on the evidence before the committee.[26][27][28] The memo was criticized for drawing conclusions based on too little evidence.[29][30]

On September 29, 2018, and October 6, 2018, Mitchell was portrayed by actress Aidy Bryant in the Saturday Night Live opening sketch, and referred to in the "Weekend Update" segment.[31][32][33]

Acting County Attorney

In August 2019, Montgomery promoted Mitchell to Chief Deputy at the county attorney's office.[4][34] Mitchell got the job after Montgomery's longtime chief deputy Mark Faull left on medical leave and his replacement Michael McVey was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with another county employee.[4] After Montgomery resigned to take a seat on the state supreme court, Mitchell became acting county attorney until the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors selected an interim to fill out the remainder of Montgomery's term.[35] Mitchell, along with Jon Eliason, Allister Adel, Rodney Glassman, John Kaites, Gina Godbehere, Chris DeRose, and Lacy Cooper, applied for the position.[36]

After the Board selected Adel for the County Attorney role, Ken Vick became chief deputy and Mitchell became the deputy chief for the criminal group.[37]

County Attorney

Adel resigned in March 2022.[38] The following month, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Mitchell as the interim county attorney.[39]

Mitchell was the Republican nominee in the 2022 special election defeating Anni Foster and Gina Godbehere for the nomination.[1] 2020 nominee Julie Gunnigle was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.[40] Mitchell defeated Gunnigle in the general election with 52.8% of the vote.[41]

Recognition

Mitchell was named the prosecutor of the year by her office in 2006.[42] Later in her career, she was recognized as the “Outstanding Arizona Sexual Assault Prosecutor of the Year” by Arizona Governor, Janet Napolitano and state attorney general Terry Goddard.[43]

The Rutherford case

In Nov. 2022, a bar complaint was filed against Rachel Mitchell for her part in the Paul Rutherford case.[44] Defense attorneys acting for Ms. Nubia Rodriguez allege that Ms Mitchell had contributed to prosecutorial misconduct committed by Maricopa County prosecutors in an attempt to get their client convicted of negligent homicide in the death of Phoenix police officer Paul Rutherford. Prosecutors are alleged to have knowingly included false witness statements and withheld critical video evidence from the defense.

References
  1. "EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Mitchell: percussionist, prosecutor, martial artist". azcentral. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. Jenkins, Jimmy (November 8, 2022). "Mitchell declares victory in the Maricopa County Attorney's race; Gunnigle concedes". Arizona Republic. Retrieved December 3, 2022.
  3. Boehm, Lauren Castle and Jessica. "Who will replace Bill Montgomery as Maricopa County attorney?". The Arizona Republic.
  4. O'Connor, Meg (August 8, 2019). "Rachel Mitchell Gets Top Job at Montgomery's Office Amid Management Turmoil". Phoenix New Times.
  5. Stracqualursi, Veronica. "Woman representing Republicans at Kavanaugh hearing has lengthy history of prosecuting sex crimes". CNN. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  6. "GOP Hires Female Sex-Crimes Prosecutor to Question Judge, Accuser". Wall Street Journal. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  7. "Who is Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor hired to question Kavanaugh's accuser during Senate hearing?". Fox News. September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  8. "What We Know About Rachel Mitchell, the Prosecutor Set to Question Christine Blasey Ford". New York Times. September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  9. "Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona county sex crimes prosecutor, emerges as top GOP choice to question Kavanaugh accuser before committee". New York Times. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  10. Kryska, Ryan (September 27, 2018). "GCU alum at center of congressional assault hearing". Grand Canyon University News. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  11. "Rachel Mitchell". Justia Law. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  12. Leonard, Christina. New Maricopa County attorney shakes up staff, Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) January 10, 2005, page 19 - accessed via Newspapers.com open access
  13. Ryman, Anne (September 9, 2015). "ASU forms SVU to investigate sexual assaults on campus". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  14. McBride, Jessica (September 26, 2018). "Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa AZ Prosecutor: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  15. Mark, Michelle. "Meet Rachel Mitchell, the woman questioning Ford about her Kavanaugh allegations at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing". Business Insider. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  16. Calderon, Catherin (July 11, 2014). "Ex-Valley church camp counselor gets 30 years for sex abuse". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  17. Walsh, Jim (January 9, 2015). "Judge sends ex-Mesa officer's case back to grand jury". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  18. Walsh, Jim (April 28, 2015). "Sex-assault charges dropped for former Mesa officer". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  19. "Minutes of the MAG Regional Domestic Violence Council Meeting" (PDF). Marciopa Association of Government. June 7, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  20. "Minutes of the MAG Regional Domestic Violence Council Meeting" (PDF). Marciopa Association of Government. April 5, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  21. "Meeting Notification and Transmittal of Tentative Agenda" (PDF). Marciopa Association of Government. July 30, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  22. "Meeting Notification and Transmittal of Tentative Agenda". Arizona Capitol Times. March 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  23. "Meet Rachel Mitchell, the woman questioning Ford about her Kavanaugh allegations at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing". Business Insider. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  24. Gabbatt, Adam. "Rachel Mitchell: who is the prosecutor grilling Christine Blasey Ford?". The Guardian. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  25. "Brett Kavanaugh confirmation: Kavanaugh testifies following Ford's questioning on sex assault allegations - live updates". CBS. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  26. Lapin, Tamar (October 1, 2018). "Prosecutor's memo scrutinizes 'inconsistencies' in Christine Blasey-Ford's testimony". New York Post. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  27. de Vogue, Ariane (October 1, 2018). "Outside counsel tells Republican senators 'reasonable prosecutor' would not bring Ford case against Kavanaugh". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  28. Price, Greg (October 1, 2018). "Christine Blasey Ford's Case Weaker Than 'He Said, She Said," Says GOP-Hired Sex Crimes Lawyer". Newsweek. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  29. "Lawyer calls out Rachel Mitchell over 'misleading' Kavanaugh memo | CBC Radio". CBC. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  30. "Experts question GOP prosecutor's memo on Christine Blasey Ford". Washington Post. Retrieved October 15, 2018.
  31. Pallotta, Frank (September 30, 2018). "'SNL' has Matt Damon play an angry Brett Kavanaugh". CNN. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  32. Tuchiano, Danielle (September 29, 2018). "Matt Damon Appears as Brett Kavanaugh in 'Saturday Night Live' Premiere (Watch)". Variety. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  33. Gilbert, Sophie (October 7, 2018). "Saturday Night Live Whiffs the Kavanaugh Confirmation". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  34. O'Connor, Meg (August 8, 2019). "Rachel Mitchell Gets Top Job at Montgomery's Office Amid Management Turmoil". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  35. Castle, Jessica Boehm and Lauren. "Here's how Maricopa County will replace Bill Montgomery as county attorney". The Arizona Republic.
  36. O'Connor, Meg (September 19, 2019). "One of These Eight People Will Be the Next County Attorney Until 2021". Phoenix New Times.
  37. Castle, Lauren. "Allister Adel shakes up staff at Maricopa County Attorney's Office". The Arizona Republic.
  38. "Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel announces resignation following months of turmoil". ABC15. March 21, 2022. Retrieved March 25, 2022.
  39. Jenkins, Jimmy (April 20, 2022). "Rachel Mitchell appointed interim Maricopa County attorney". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  40. Jenkins, Jimmy (April 12, 2022). "These 4 candidates for Maricopa County attorney will be on the ballot". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved April 22, 2022.
  41. "2022 General Election Results" (PDF).
  42. "Who is Rachel Mitchell, the Prosecutor Set to Question Christine Blasey Ford?". The Seattle Times. September 25, 2018. Retrieved April 6, 2020.
  43. Lord, Debby. "Who is Rachel Mitchell, the woman who will be questioning Ford, Kavanaugh?". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  44. Biscobing, Dave (November 4, 2022). "Bar complaint filed against County Attorney, top prosecutors". ABC15. Scripps Local Media. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
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