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How Flagstaff’s High Cost of Living Shapes Spousal Support Under A.R.S. § 25-319
By Ryan T. McGuire Does your city of residence impact your divorce? You might assume it does not matter. Divorce is primarily governed by state law, so any city within the state should yield the same result. But divorce often hinges on money, and in high-cost cities like Flagstaff, financial realities can significantly shape outcomes. […]
Who’s a Mandatory Reporter, Anyway? Part 2: Doe v. Warr and Broader Liability
by Ryan T. McGuire When a Sunday school teacher fails to report suspected child abuse, can she be held legally responsible? This question recently came before the Arizona Court of Appeals in Doe v. Warr (2025), a case that has quietly but significantly expanded the scope of who can be considered a mandatory reporter under […]
Judicial Bypass in Arizona: Navigating Abortion Rights After Proposition 139
On November 5, 2024, Arizona voters passed Proposition 139, enshrining a fundamental right to abortion in the Arizona Constitution. [1] Previously, as reported in our blog post “Bypass: The Future of Abortion Access for One of the Most Vulnerable Populations,” [2] the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs overruled Roe’s right to abortion, which called the […]
Who’s a Mandatory Reporter, Anyway?
Paging Father M.D. by Ryan T. McGuire, Law Clerk You are driving home from work and are stopped behind a bus at a busy Phoenix intersection. You see what you assume is a mother tugging her toddler by the arm, perhaps trying to get the child ready to get on the bus as it approaches […]
The September Surge: Understanding Seasonal Patterns in Child Abuse Detection
By Ryan T. McGuire, Woodnick Law Clerk When COVID-19 lockdowns began in March 2020, child welfare agencies noticed a significant decline in child abuse reports. [1] But did child abuse actually drop during the pandemic? Unlikely. Data from Arizona’s Department of Child Safety (DCS) reveals a telling pattern. In June 2024, the agency received 2,756 […]
Family Court: Can I Leave My Child Home Alone?
By Deandra Arena and Ryan T. McGuire Making good decisions for your children is tough under normal circumstances. Parents are always trying to protect their children from getting hurt while helping them become well-adjusted adults. During a divorce, this becomes even more difficult because your parenting decisions are under a microscope. For example, at what […]
Retinal Hemorrhages
by Markus W. Risinger and Ryan T. McGuire Investigators commonly point to retinal hemorrhages, or retinal bleeding, to distinguish child abuse from accidental injury or underlying medical conditions. Courts rely on expert testimony identifying retinal hemorrhages as evidence of child abuse so frequently that the diagnosis has almost become shorthand for an abuse finding. But […]
Will I Keep My House in My Divorce?
A house is often the most significant piece of property involved a divorce case. Commonly, people ask whether they can keep the house in the divorce. The answer is, “it depends.” Community Property Laws in Arizona: Arizona is a community property state, which means that married couples share in the assets acquired during the marriage. […]
Am I the Daddy? A New Ruling From the Arizona Supreme Court Says “Yes.”
The Arizona Supreme Court recently heard a case involving a biological father’s parenting rights [1]. After the mother offered the child to Adoption Choices of Arizona (“Choices”), the organization petitioned to terminate the father’s parenting rights. Choices contended that the father missed the 30 day deadline imposed for putative fathers and forfeited any claim of […]
Remembering Dr. Henry Kempe
Child abuse was not always criminalized. The United States did not prosecute a case until 1874. There, Mary Ellen Wilson was an adopted orphan whose mistreatment was discovered by her neighbors when she was nine years old. Because of her emaciated appearance, the neighbors thought she was five years old. Authorities soon discovered that Mary […]