8 June 25th - July 1st, 2026 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | ALWAYS IN YOUR FEED. FOLLOW US For example, the public can obtain no information on a bar complaint filed in 2022 against Mitchell and other top county prose- cutors for allegedly suppressing evidence and other misconduct in the false prosecu- tion of Nubia Rodriguez. The county attor- ney’s office — led by Mitchell’s predecessor at the time — charged Rodriguez with negli- gent homicide in the accidental 2019 traffic death of a Phoenix police officer, who jaywalked in front of her vehicle. Two judges dismissed the charge against Rodriguez for prosecutorial wrongdoing. If the bar did more than a cursory review of the complaint before square-filing it, the public will never know. In response to an inquiry from New Times, bar spokesperson Danny Shapiro would only say that “the charges were closed and have no public disposition,” adding that per the bar’s rules, “there are no public records available.” The bar’s one-sided rules were in full effect at Gagic’s April 15 hearing before Lisa VandenBerg, the Arizona Supreme Court’s presiding disciplinary judge, and two other panel members. VandenBerg had previously ruled that Gagic could not subpoena Mitchell because VandenBerg considered her a “non-party” to the case. Subsequently, Gagic refused to comply with a subpoena to be deposed by the state bar senior counsel Craig Henley prior to the hearing. As a result, at the beginning of the nearly two-hour hearing, VandenBerg declared that Gagic “will not be permitted to testify” but would be able to “present argument” regarding the “aggravation and mitigation” of the sanctions he would face as a result of his disobedience. Gagic responded with an ironic “Hallelujah.” Henley spoke first, painting the already- suspended attorney as the second coming of Voldemort, accusing him of a “relentless quest to impugn the integrity of the judiciary and the judicial system.” Gagic had maligned a number of judges, Henley averred, giving numerous examples. Worse still, Gagic possessed as a “self-serving interest” his intention to “burden the sitting county attorney and her husband.” Gagic had been “obstructionist” during the two-year process leading to the hearing before VandenBerg, Henley said. He had “consistently refused to comply with the court orders and discipline rules in this case,” which had “erode(d) the public’s confidence in the rule of law and the orderly system of justice.” A pretty robust allegation against a guy with less than 1,000 followers on X. Henley stumbled when he accused Gagic of “multiple threats and expletive-laced emails to the state bar.” Gagic called that out as “a lie,” prompting Henley to read aloud an email in which Gagic wrote that “I can’t wait for all your kids to find out you are all a bunch of fucking cowards and traitors.” Profane, sure. Threatening? Despite the supposed ban on him testi- fying, Gagic got in his licks in, repeatedly interrupting to the point that VandenBerg threatened to kick him out. Gagic nonethe- less buffaloed his way through the hearing, making points that were sometimes off topic and other times spot on. “Why is the State Bar of Arizona OK with the county attorney using her husband to troll her critics?” Gagic asked during the proceeding. “That’s what I would like to know.” Gagic continued, driving home the point. “I would think a county attorney should maybe have thicker skin, should maybe just, I don’t know, ignore me,” he said. “If she just ignored me, if Mitchell just ignored me, I would quit Twitter after two weeks because what’s the fun in that? There is no fun. There’s no point to it if I’m just being ignored. But she created this. Why is the county attorney ordering a defense attorney disbarred for criticizing on Twitter? Why isn’t that kind of problematic?” In fact, Mitchell’s unhinged pursuit of an admittedly offensive troll has only elevated Gagic’s fat jokes and problematic innuendo, giving them a far wider audi- ence than if Mitchell and Stout had simply looked the other way. By doubling down at every turn, the couple created a trail of public documents that illustrate a prolonged example of what is commonly referred to as the Streisand effect. For Mitchell, it could also be viewed as an abuse of her authority as a prosecutor, one in which the state bar is complicit. Following his notice of disbarment, the bar hit Gagic with a bill for more than $4,400 for the costs of the proceedings against him. His previous suspension garnered a similar bill for $6,000, according to the state bar’s website. He compared the invoice to the “bullet fee” the Chinese communists reputedly applied to the families of executed prisoners. Gagic also doesn’t think Mitchell is done with him. As long as she’s in power, there’s going to be people pandering to her,” he said. “For her, it’s personal. And who the fuck am I? I’m nobody. You know what I mean? Who’s going to stop it? So why wouldn’t she? So, depending on who the attorney general is or the U.S. attorney or whoever else, as long as she’s in power, she’s going to try.” Mitchell characteristically did not respond to New Times’ request for comment on her and her paramour’s feud with Gagic, and whether she will finally put an end to it. Troll Hunting from p 7 Disbarred attorney Vladimir Gagic, who makes a pastime of criticizing and insulting Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell online. (Vladimir Gagic X Account)
