Law expert weighs in on Ariz. sweat lodge case

A recent Associated Press article discusses the judge's decision to deny a mistrial request in the Arizona sweat lodge case, where defendant James Arthur Ray is facing charges based on his alleged involvement in the deaths of three people who died after a 2009 sweat lodge ceremony he led. Ray's attorneys filed for a mistrial after they discovered that the prosecutors broke a disclosure rule when they failed to provide an email from an environmental scientist to the defense.

Zig Popko, director of the Post-Conviction Clinic at the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, described the different ways the defense could move forward in remedying the prosecutors’ failure to provide the email, including filing sanctions because of the violation that include monetary penalties. He also explained that mistrials are not typically the favored outcome, especially in cases that have been going on for weeks, because of the significant amount of time, effort and money already put into the case.

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