| NEWS | Slate from p 11 eligible for expungement, the statute directs judges to automatically grant the petition. MCAO, according to its statement, has largely focused its proactive expungement efforts on recent convictions. More than 70 percent of its expungement petitions involved cases from the last six years. The agency has also said that it will not file expungement petitions on behalf of people who have been convicted of another felony charge since their cannabis offense, and they must not have pending felony charges. These people are still eligible to request an expungement themselves. Robinette said that it appears that the agency is focusing, primarily, on the “low- hanging fruit” — cases that are recent and fairly straightforward. A spokesperson with MCAO touted the agency’s work on expungements but directed specific questions on the expungement program to Jason Kalish, the division chief handling the efforts. Kalish was not available for comment. Some cases, though, are more complex than others. Under the statute that voters passed, any simple possession offense involving less than 2.5 ounces of cannabis is eligible to be cleared. So are paraphernalia charges and some cultivation charges, when they involved six or fewer cannabis plants. “Anecdotally, the biggest gap we’ve seen is people who were charged for [cannabis] oil and resin as a narcotic substance,” said Gunnigle. These cases, she pointed out, are likely harder to sift through, as many different substances are listed as narcotics. Ball from p 8 “They’re pricing themselves out of the game,” Stonecipher said. “It’s not a smart entertainment value.” At a press conference last week, Manfred said the clock was ticking if teams want to sell out ballparks for spring training and even the upcoming regular season that starts April 7. But Matheson said it’s too late — the damage is already done. Putting exhibition games back on the schedule won’t salvage much because people planned their spring vacations months ago, according to the economics expert. “Getting these games back won’t help the Cactus League much,” he said. “I would have crossed Arizona off my list three months ago.” Nevertheless, the spring training schedule began last Thursday in the Valley for the hometown baseball team. The Arizona Diamondbacks — along with their local fans — didn’t have to travel far to the spring training facility in Scottsdale. They In older cases, record-keeping often complicates matters. Before cannabis was legalized, all possession cases of under two pounds of marijuana — whether one pound or one gram — could constitute a “class six” felony. So the exact amount is sometimes missing from police records. But the exact weight matters in expungement cases. If you were charged for possession of one ounce of pot, you can have your conviction expunged. If you had three ounces, meanwhile, you aren’t eligible. It has been one of the “typical issues in expungement,” Gunnigle said. In Maricopa County, Gunnigle also noted that expungements were good PR for an embattled office. MCAO has been contending with numerous scandals in recent weeks. The head of the agency, Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, is facing calls to resign from top prosecutors in her office over questions about her sobriety and ability to run the office. Adel recently appeared on the local PBS station, KAET Channel 8, for a lengthy interview, defending herself against tough questions from host Ted Simons. One example: marijuana expungements. “We are doing some amazing things in our office, such as Prop 207 expungements,” she said. “With each progressive scandal at the county attorney’s office, she seems to expunge more convictions,” said Gunnigle, who ran against Adel in the 2020 county attorney’s race. “And that’s something we applaud,” she said. faced the Colorado Rockies. “We look forward to getting out to Salt River Fields immediately and seeing our loyal fans in spring training and for the regular season at Chase Field,” Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall said in a statement last week. The other Cactus League stadiums are spread across Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, and Goodyear. Despite the delay, Goodyear Mayor Joe Pizzillo said he’s confident that businesses in his corner of the Valley will help pack stadiums full of fans who are coming from all over the country to see baseball this month. “We can’t wait to see the stands at the ballpark,” Pizzillo said. With some luck, spring training could still inject the usual $214 million out of a total of $3.2 billion of the state’s gross domestic product, which refers to the total value of goods, services, and salaries in a community. As Cactus League President Chris Calcaterra put it, “We can’t take spring training for granted.” 13 phoenixnewtimes.com | CONTENTS | FEEDBACK | OPINION | NEWS | FEATURE | NIGHT+DAY | CULTURE | FILM | CAFE | MUSIC | PHOENIX NEW TIMES MARCH 24TH– MARCH 30TH, 2022
