Allister Adel

Allister Adel (November 11, 1976 – April 30, 2022) Originally appointed to the position, Adel subsequently won election to a full term in November 2020. Adel received her bachelor's degree in political science with a minor in criminology from the University of Arizona in 1999. The details of the memo were never revealed.

From 2016 to 2018, Adel was the executive director for the Maricopa County Bar Association.

County Attorney In 2019, Bill Montgomery resigned as county attorney to take a seat on the Arizona Supreme Court. Adel was selected by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to replace Montgomery. Other applicants who applied for the position included: Rachel Mitchell, Jon Eliason, Rodney Glassman, John Kaites, Gina Godbehere, Chris DeRose, and Lacy Cooper.

In 2020, Adel was unopposed in the Republican primary and defeated Democrat Julie Gunnigle in the general election, receiving 46.45% of the vote.

Health issues On the night of the 2020 election, Adel was hospitalized and had emergency surgery for bleeding to the brain.

In August 2021, Adel checked herself into a rehab facility in California to work on problems that included stress, anxiety, an eating disorder and alcoholism. Adel continued to run the county attorney's office and returned to work in September. Adel confirmed two alcohol relapses since leaving the rehab center.

Policies Adel campaigned on a promise to move the county away from the hard-line policies implemented under Bill Montgomery. During the 2020 election, Adel made several pledges, including to reduce Arizona's mass incarceration rate, increase alternatives to prison, reduce the county's practice of overcharging defendants, and giving prosecutors more leeway in plea negotiations.

After her appointment, Adel reversed a county policy that had prevented gay couples from getting legal services for adoption required by state law.

Adel fired controversial prosecutor Juan Martinez who was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and faced investigations by the state bar for alleged prosecutorial misconduct in several death penalty cases.

In September 2020, the county attorney's office declined to file charges against the police officer involved in the Shooting of Dion Johnson.

Prosecution of protestors In October 2020, several Black Lives Matter protestors arrested in Phoenix were charged by the county attorney's office as gang members. Questions over the way Adel's office handled the prosecution of 15 protesters resulted in a critical reporting in August 2021 accusing the office of colluding with Phoenix police officers to falsely charge protesters. The cases were dropped a week after ABC 15 published an investigation on the dubious nature of the charges. Adel claimed that her brain injury "impacted her ability to vet the case and understand the evidence behind the charges." The incident led to the Department of Justice opening an investigation of the Phoenix Police Department.

Calls for resignation Multiple groups pushed for Adel to resign. In September 2021, the Maricopa County Democratic Party sought Adel's resignation in response to the controversial prosecution of the Black Lives Matter protestors and Adel's rehab treatment. A week later, Mass Liberation AZ, a criminal justice reform and activist group, launched a “Resign or Be Recalled" campaign.

On February 15, 2022, five top prosecutors in the county attorney's office wrote a letter demanding that Adel step down, sending it to the board of supervisors and the state bar. The letter "raised ethical questions about her sobriety, long absences from work and judgment." On February 22, 2022, Adel rejected their call for resignation, stating they "either stick it out or resign."

Former long-serving county attorney Rick Romley also publicly stated Adel should step down.

Adel announced her intention to resign on March 21, 2022, effective March 25.

Personal life and death Adel was married to David DeNitto She was a registered Republican since 2000.