State of Arizona, ex rel. Mark Brnovich v. City of Tucson, Arizona, Respondent, Jeff…

Summary

The court accepted mandatory special-action jurisdiction and held that Tucson’s ordinance requiring destruction of certain unclaimed or forfeited firearms was superseded by generally applicable state statutes. It rejected the City’s separation-of-powers and jurisdictional challenges, concluding that the Attorney General’s investigation and required filing process did not improperly control executive or judicial functions. The court did not decide whether the statutory bond requirement could constitutionally be enforced because Tucson had suspended enforcement of the ordinance. Justice Bolick would have rejected the existing statewide-versus-local-interest framework in favor of the constitutional text, while Justice Gould would have declared the bond provision unintelligible and unenforceable.