PHX Reporter

Maricopa County prosecutors were reportedly forced to drop 180 criminal cases because the charges were filed after the statutes of limitations had expired, according to ABC15.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office (MCAO) told the news station that the unfiled cases were misdemeanors from 2020. Many of those cases had been submitted by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office and the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

"Col. [Heston] Silbert and I had a direct conversation with the county attorney and expressed our concerns in earnest regarding these cases," Sheriff Paul Penzone said to ABC15. “Our highest priority is for victims, who due to these circumstances will not receive justice."

Arizona law requires that misdemeanor charges must be filed within a year of when the alleged crime occurred. Among the potential reasons cited for the backlog were "a shortage of prosecutors, ethical concerns over criminal charges posted against protesters, Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel's stint in rehab last year," and concerns raised by other officials that she was unable to effectively lead the office, ABC15 said.

Adel was named county attorney in October 2019 after Bill Montgomery left the post to become an Arizona Supreme Court justice, according to ABC15. Adel was then elected to the role in 2020.

Penzone said he and Silbert asked the county attorney to tackle the issue of so-called furthers – the process of sending cases back to police agencies for further investigation. Penzone blamed that process for the problems with the substantial log of unfiled cases.

"This practice has been utilized to quell the MCAO caseload and subsequently slowed, and [it's] been a detriment to criminal justice procedures and criminal investigations," he said, according to ABC15.

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office reviews approximately 48,000 submitted cases each year, which is enough to make it the third-largest public prosecuting body in the U.S.