May 23, 2024
Following years of judicial misconduct and other serious allegations exposed in an ABC15 investigation, Maricopa County’s top judge has disqualified his entire bench from hearing a post-conviction relief challenge in a first-degree murder case, according to ABC 15.
In an order issued on May 7, Presiding Judge Joseph Welty ruled that the “exceptionally rare” and “unprecedented” circumstances surrounding former judge Erin Otis required him to re-assign the case to a judge from another county, news channel stated.