After completing law school and moving to Arizona, Julie joined the Capital Litigation and Criminal Appeals Sections of the Attorney General’s Office. In 2019, after 13 years with that office, Julie joined MCAO as a Deputy County Attorney with the Capital Litigation Bureau.
During her time with MCAO, Julie Done has been instrumental in the Capital Litigation Bureau. Unlike the typical work associated with being a prosecutor, Julie’s position doesn’t involve trying cases. Instead she assists with editing, researching, and drafting pleadings and sometimes arguing individual issues in the cases. “I try to protect the conviction and sentence on the front end, before it has happened, and make sure we do everything we can in trial so later the conviction and sentence are not overturned.” At the core of her work, Julie is focused on doing things for the right reasons and works to balance the need for justice with those of the community and victims. “We always want to do what's right, not what may seem like the way we are going to win. As prosecutors we have a higher standard of integrity and ethics, we have to balance all of those things.”
Julie is not only a leader in her bureau but an active team member and serves as a great resource for other bureaus in the office. While her job keeps her busy, she enjoys the variety of work that comes across her desk and everyone she is able to help. “You never know what your day is going to look like, if I get an email from someone that needs help or needs something researched; it’s always different.”
The diversity of her work on several cases, including drafting Special Action Petitions and Responses in capital cases, drafting motions and responses in pretrial and postconviction proceedings, and participating in oral argument, have all been helpful to the office and impacted justice for victims of crime throughout the state of Arizona. Currently, Julie has taken the lead on the Miller/Montgomery juvenile cases, arguing that the juveniles were not sentenced to mandatory natural life for first degree murder and the Supreme Court’s opinion in Jones v. Mississippi, decided in April 2021, changed the controlling law and may provide for dismissal of the pending resentencings or evidentiary hearings in many of the juvenile cases.
For those interested in this career field, Julie’s shares that “as a prosecutor you have a lot of power and you want to be careful with how you use it. Your integrity and ethics should be part of everything you do. It’s not as glamorous as people see on TV or read in books but, it’s something that needs to be done and it needs to be done right.” She advises that, “regardless of the position you choose, preparation is the biggest thing.”
This June, the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council (APAAC) recognized outstanding prosecutors during its Annual Prosecutor Conference. For all her work at MCAO, Julie was awarded the Appellate Prosecutor of the Year Award which recognizes an outstanding Arizona Appellate Prosecutor whose work has significantly contributed to the mission of serving victims and seeking justice.
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is fortunate to have Julie as part of our workforce and is grateful for her contributions to our mission.
About APAAC
APAAC was created by the Arizona Legislature in 1977, with the primary purpose of providing training and education to prosecutors throughout Arizona. Currently the council serves 885 full-time state, county, and municipal prosecutors.