PHOENIX — The Arizona State Bar dismissed its investigation into conservative Republican State Representative David Stringer’s 2004 application to join the bar.
At issue was an arrest in 1983 and whether or not the Arizona Bar had been properly notified of it.
Stringer, R-Prescott, has maintained that the bar was notified, as were other state bars to which he was admitted. The Arizona Bar found no evidence that Stringer had withheld the information.
The win for Stringer is more than just the dismissal of this complaint, as the Arizona Bar also confirmed that the Washington, D.C. Bar reviewed his 1983 arrest in 1984 and found no reason to deny him membership at that time.
With the Arizona House Ethics Committee looking into the matter, it is another confirmation that the whole record was reviewed some 35 years ago and there was no reason to discipline Stringer.
The whole file no longer exists, but investigators for the house committee are trying to re-investigate the matter anyway — for purely political purposes.
Confirmation that the matter was reviewed at the time will bolster Stringer’s defense and raise the bar higher for those that are seeking to discredit and unseat him.
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The full story of Stringer’s 1983 false arrest and its impact on his life was first covered here by the Arizona Daily Independent.
An incomplete telling of the story by the Phoenix New Times followed some time later, and led to the filing of an ethics complaint by Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa. There is no word yet on whether or not Stringer’s exoneration will make a difference with Rep. Townsend and her complaint.
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