Brnovich: The name Laurie Roberts is unable to write

MIA AZ AG Mark Brnovich, issues statement, hides behind assistant

Although the topic is far from humorous, alert readers had ample reason to smirk while reading Arizona Republic columnist Laurie Roberts’ most recent biased-laced offering.

For those who no longer subscribe to the agendized newspaper with a decidedly leftward bent, Roberts is the one who describes conservative Republicans as “Kooks,”and used her allotted space to continually lambaste Arizona’s former Attorney General Tom Horne on the basis of innuendo and contrivances.

Her most recent column on the handling of the serious case of rape perpetrated by a convicted sex offender on a teacher is a stellar example of Roberts’ keyboard contortionism.

In her opening sentence Roberts notes that the Arizona Attorney General’s Office is asking for dismissal of the lawsuit filed by the teacher who was brutally assaulted and raped after being left in an unguarded prison classroom with a convicted sex offender. “The AG’s reasoning,” she writes, “is essentially this: the woman knew she was in a prison, so what did she expect?”

We take no exception with Roberts’ righteous sarcasm.

But what is more than a bit odd is that she names Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Weisbard, but neglects to even mention his elected boss, Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich —- the man at whose desk the buck is supposed to stop.

In its coverage of this brutal crime, even the left-of-center Huffington Post tops its report, “Arizona Attorney General’s Office Wants Lawsuit Of Teacher Raped By Prison Inmate Dismissed” with an expansive photo of Attorney General Brnovich.

The victim, who has filed a $4 million lawsuit, cites a lack of basic security measures to ensure her safety as she gave a GED exam to inmates Jan. 20, 2014.  Jacob Harvey, the 20-year-old rapist, who lingered behind, was serving a sentence incarcerating him until 2041 after being convicted of sexual assault, kidnapping and dangerous crimes against children. He raped and beat a woman in front of her young child during a home invasion. Find out more about this character using the DOC inmate search. His inmate number is 279133.

“Plaintiff is an ADOC (Arizona Department of Corrections) employee who routinely worked at the prison complex,” lawyer Weisbard wrote in his motion to dismiss. “By being placed in a classroom at the complex, the officers were not placing Plaintiff in any type of situation that she would not normally face. The risk of harm, including assault, always existed at a prison like Eyman.”

Huffington notes, Brnovich wasn’t available to comment Wednesday, but the Attorney General’s Office issued this statement: “As a former prosecutor, no one is more sympathetic to victims of violent crimes than Attorney General Mark Brnovich. Our office was disappointed to see a misleading opinion piece that was recently published regarding the brutal assault of a Department of Corrections employee that occurred in January 2014. The Attorney General’s Office is taking affirmative steps to make sure that justice is served for the victim of this heinous crime. We would ask all parties to respect the integrity of the legal process.”  (Editorial Brnovich referenced as “misleading.”)

Since the office Brnovich leads is seeking dismissal of the victim’s lawsuit, it raises the question of exactly what “affirmative steps” —- other than his sympathy —- he is taking to “ensure justice is served for the victim of this heinous crime?”