The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is seeking qualified candidates to serve as volunteer consultants on the agency’s Critical Incident Review Team. The effort to have non-MCAO employees serve on the Critical Incident Review Team will provide additional community input in the review of public safety employees involved in officer-involved shootings or in-custody deaths, submitted to MCAO by law enforcement.

 A pool of candidates will be selected by the County Attorney and 1-3 members will participate on a rotational basis in the agency’s critical incident review process. The team then provides advice to Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel as to whether any crime was committed and whether there is a reasonable likelihood of conviction to support the filing of criminal charges.

Ultimately, the County Attorney then makes a charging decision after a thorough review of the facts and hearing the views of the Critical Incident Review Team members.

“Increasing transparency and accountability is a priority for this office and the addition of outside members to this process supports my commitment to collaborating with the community,” stated County Attorney Allister Adel.

The selected community members will serve as volunteer consultants for up to one year on a rotational basis. The time commitment will be approximately 5-10 hours per month. Consultants will provide their personal views on the legal consequences of the conduct under review. For this reason, selected members must have verifiable experience, education, and/or training in the areas of Arizona criminal law, laws regarding police use of force, and justification defenses.

Examples of the most qualified candidates for this position include, but are not limited to, a retired judge with experience in criminal trials, a law professor, a former police officer, a current or former defense attorney with experience handling cases of this nature, or an attorney specializing in section 1983 civil rights litigation. Attorney applicants must be current members of the State Bar of Arizona in good standing.

Selected members will be required to sign a consulting agreement with a non-disclosure agreement and undergo a background check. Applicants need to apply online with a resume and cover letter at MaricopaCountyAttorney.org/CIRApplication. The deadline to submit applications is Friday, Aug. 7, 2020 at 5 p.m.