‘Egregious’ conduct, lack of remorse lead State Bar to recommend Sulley be disbarred

On the heels of the Arizona Supreme Court banning former Maricopa City Magistrate and Pinal County Justice of the Peace Scott Sulley from serving as a judge, the State Bar of Arizona recommended to the Court Sulley be disbarred.

In its briefing filed Monday, Chief Bar Counsel Maret Vassella, said:

“Over an extended period of time, (Sulley) failed to properly administer the duties of his office, which resulted in the public’s substantial negative perception of the office. The misconduct included engaging in judicial conduct that resulted in harm to the parties involved in a number of cases; potential harm to public safety; engaging in abusive treatment of staff and litigants in his court; failure to properly train and supervise staff; and failing to cooperate with the Commission (on Judicial Conduct) during its investigation and prosecution of the case.”

The briefing referenced Sulley’s Justice Court not meeting minimum accounting standards – an audit revealed more than $100,000 in un-deposited funds and $65,000 found in opened and unopened mail and a bank-statement discrepancy of more than $150,000 – hundreds of arrest warrants that went unprocessed, and “utter disarray causing widespread chaos in locating files.”

The recommendation also said Sulley threatened defendants, berated a new prosecutor and made “racially discriminatory and offensive remarks.”

The brief cited 11 rules violations and said Sulley’s “misconduct was characterized as catastrophic.”