Scott Bundgaard weighs possible plea agreement
by William Hermann - Aug. 15, 2011 11:33 AM
The Arizona Republic
City prosecutors and an attorney for Sen. Scott Bundgaard, R-Peoria, said Monday that they were close to agreement on a deal that would allow the state lawmaker to plead "no contest" to misdemeanor assault and reckless-endangerment charges stemming from a February freeway altercation with his then-girlfriend.
City prosecutor Aaron Carreon-Ainsa and Phoenix defense attorney James Austin Woods appeared before a municipal judge Monday morning to discuss the case and potentially set a trial date. However, they agreed shortly after 11 a.m. Monday to break until 1:30 p.m., when they hoped to return to court with an agreement in hand.
Outside the courtroom, Woods said it was possible in the agreement that Bundgaard would plead "no contest" to the charges. Woods said that Bundgaard does not want to put his family or his former girlfriend, Aubrey Ballard, through a trial.
"If we go to trial, we'll have to go into Aubrey's background, and we don't want to do that," Woods said.
Woods said it was possible an agreement could be reached in which Bundgaard would go into a "diversion program," and if he completed the program, that the charges would be thrown out. Bundgaard did not appear in court with his attorney Monday morning, but remained in the nearby city prosecutor's office during the morning hearings.
The charges against Bundgaard stem from a Feb. 25 freeway altercation with Ballard that cost him his Senate majority leadership position.
The endangerment charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $4,620 fine. The maximum penalty for the domestic-violence assault charge is $1,400 and four months in jail.
Phoenix police recommended that Bundgaard be charged with assault when they submitted the case to city prosecutors March 24.
In the police report, four eyewitnesses backed up Ballard's version of the late-night scuffle along the median of Arizona 51. She alleged that the senator pulled her out of his Mercedes and threw her to the ground.
Bundgaard, R-Peoria, maintains he became the victim after Ballard flew into a jealous rage. Ballard was arrested and spent the night in jail. Bundgaard invoked his legislative immunity from arrest and was released at the scene.
Charges against Ballard were dropped the next day.
Scott Bundgaard pleads no contest in freeway altercation
by William Hermann - Aug. 16, 2011 11:08 AM
The Arizona Republic
Sen. Scott Bundgaard pleaded "no contest" to misdemeanor endangerment stemming from a February freeway altercation with his then-girlfriend, Aubry Ballard.
Bundgaard has one year to attend a diversion program. If he doesn't complete the program in time, he faces five days in jail, jail costs and 36-months probation.
A misdemeanor assault charge was dismissed.
"This has been a terrible ordeal for Scott," said defense attorney James Austin Woods on Tuesday morning. "He is just glad it's over." [Translation - Scott is very angry he got caught, and very angry that the court is punishing for his crimes, he is very angry the court is treating him like one of the serfs he rules over]
Aubry Ballard said it has been bad enough for her, too. [I can understand her point - she is the person Senator Scott Bundgaard beat up]
In a statement released Tuesday, Ballard said, "I'm glad to have this difficult chapter of my life behind me after 5 months. It's been painful and very frustrating.''
On Monday, Phoenix city prosecutor Aaron Carreon-Ainsa and Woods appeared before Judge Louis Frank Dominguez to discuss the case.
The judge accepted a motion to continue but said if an agreement wasn't reached by Wednesday at 10:30 a.m., the case would go to trial.
Bundgaard, R-Peoria, did not appear in court on Monday but did appear on Tuesday after lengthy morning negotiations in Carreon-Ainsa's office.
Bundgaard was not available for comment, but Ballard in her statement was very blunt about what she believed would have happened had to case gone to trial:
"I'm not surprised that Scott took this plea,'' Ballard said. "Between the long line of witnesses who corroborated the facts I related to the Phoenix Police and his documented years-long pattern of abusive behavior toward women, a trial surely would have ended with a guilty verdict.''
The charges against Bundgaard stem from a Feb. 25 freeway altercation with Ballard that cost him his Senate majority leadership position. In the Phoenix police report, four eyewitnesses backed up Ballard's version of the late-night scuffle along the median of Arizona 51. She said the senator pulled her out of his car and threw her to the ground.
Bundgaard maintains he was the victim after Ballard flew into a jealous rage.
Ballard was arrested and spent the night in jail. Invoking legislative immunity from arrest, Bundgaard was released at the scene.
Bundgaard case: Ethics inquiry will go forward
by Alia Beard Rau - Jan. 3, 2012 11:21 AM
The Arizona Republic
The Thursday Senate Ethics Committee hearing into Sen. Scott Bundgaard will go forward.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Buttrick has dismissed a lawsuit Bundgaard filed asking that the court halt the hearing. Buttrick ruled that he did not have the jurisdiction to interfere.
Bundgaard faces allegations of unethical conduct relating to an altercation he had last February with his then-girlfriend Aubry Ballard alongside a Phoenix freeway. During oral arguments Tuesday morning, his attorney Andre Merrett asked for a restraining order halting the hearing, alleging the committee is not following its own procedural rules and that Bundgaard will be irreparably harmed by an unfair procedure.
"Sen. Bundgaard is being party to an unfair, biased, prejudicial process," Merrett said. "There is little doubt that if this hearing proceeds, it will conclude with Sen. Bungaard being convicted of committing an ethical violation, and the recommendation will be expulsion from the Senate."
Among other things, Merrett said the rules require an ethics compliant be filed by someone with personal knowledge of the incident. In this case, he said, that could only be Ballard. Ballard has not filed an ethics complaint against Bundgaard. Sen. Steve Gallardo, D-Phoenix, filed the complaint currently being investigated.
Merrett also said three of the five Senate Ethics Committee members already have made comments alleging that they believe Bundgaard is guilty, and then refused to recuse themselves from the investigation.
Kory Langhofer, the Senate Ethics Committee's independent counsel in the ethics investigation, asked Buttrick to dismiss Bundgaard's lawsuit. He said the court does not have authority over the Legislature in this situation.
"The Constitution does commit to the Legislature the responsibility for making its own rules and for punishing its own members," Langhofer said. "If the court involves itself in this investigation, it would be legislating. That's not the role for this court."
Buttrick agreed with Langhofer.
"The Legislature has been expressly granted the power to conduct the hearing in question and to implement its own procedural rules to do so," Buttrick wrote in his ruling.
Thursday's hearing begins at 9 a.m. Both sides are expected to call witnesses and present evidence. The committee has subpoenaed Ballard to testify, as well as several witnesses to the February incident, including Phoenix police officers who responded.
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