On Thursday, September 12, 2024, the Supreme Court of Arizona suspended attorney April Arlene Sponsel for two years. This outcome stemmed from a disciplinary hearing held in late 2023 regarding ethical violations committed by Ms. Sponsel during her time as a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of April Arlene Sponsel,” with case no. SB-24-0007-AP.
In a Decision and Order issued on December 19, 2023, the hearing panel found that Ms. Sponsel violated ethical rules based on her conduct as alleged in Count Two of the bar’s complaint. Count Two related to Ms. Sponsel’s actions as a prosecutor assigned to the First Responders Bureau of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office in 2020.
Specifically, the panel found she violated ethical standards through her excessive charging of individuals arrested during protests in Phoenix following the police killing of George Floyd. Ms. Sponsel directly filed felony charges against 15 people arrested at a protest on October 17, 2020, yet the panel determined she filed the charges without adequately reviewing available evidence in the cases.
As a sanction, the hearing panel suspended Ms. Sponsel’s law license for two years. However, the panel stayed the suspension pending an appeal and subject to certain terms and conditions. Ms. Sponsel then appealed the panel’s ruling to the Arizona Supreme Court.
In its September 12, 2024 order, the Supreme Court affirmed the two-year suspension imposed by the hearing panel. The court upheld the findings that Ms. Sponsel committed ethical violations in her handling of protester cases filed in 2020.
Under the court’s order, Ms. Sponsel’s law license will be suspended for two years effective within 60 days, unless she requests an earlier effective date. The decision concludes Ms. Sponsel’s appeal and imposes the sanction of a two-year suspension from practicing law in Arizona due to her actions as a prosecutor that the panels determined violated ethical standards.
According to lawyer.com, Ms. Sponsel acquired her law license in Arizona in 2004.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
