Law professor comments on Arizona's right to recall

An article in the July 9 edition of The Arizona Republic, “Russell Pearce recall: Enough signatures to force election,” included comments from Professor of Law and Dean Emeritus Paul Bender.

The article, by reporter Alia Beard Rau, is about the certification by the Maricopa County Elections Department of signatures collected to force a recall election of Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce. The election has been put on the November ballot, and is believed to be the first recall election of a state legislator in Arizona history.

Bender, a constitutional law expert, said the creation of Arizona as a state depended on the right to recall. The first draft of the state Constitution in 1911 included the right of Arizonans to recall all elected officials, including judges.

“In those days, recall was very important,” Bender said. “It was part of the progressive, populist feeling prevalent in Arizona at the time. There was a real suspicion of government, suspicion that government interests were going to take over things.”

To read the full article, click here.

Bender teaches courses on U.S. and Arizona constitutional law. He has written extensively about constitutional law, intellectual property and Indian law, and is coauthor of the two-volume casebook/treatise, Political and Civil Rights in the United States. Bender has argued more than 20 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, and actively participates in constitutional litigation in federal and state courts.