We need the whole truth on Montgomery and Martinez
Earlier this month, a story broke revealing that one of the most prominent prosecutors in the Maricopa County Attorney’s office, Juan Martinez, has a record of sexual harassment extending back three decades.
The fact that Martinez has sexually harassed women is not exactly news; a formal misconduct complaint filed with the State Bar in March contains allegations that Martinez recently made numerous inappropriate sexual comments and repeatedly engaged in unwanted sexual advances within his own office, all while demonstrating similar behavior toward women in the courtroom.
But this latest story reveals that Martinez’s sexual misconduct dates back to at least 1990, when a supervisor warned him in a written reprimand that “t is now time that this behavior ceases, once and for all,” according to his personnel file. And yet Martinez remained employed, with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office even rewarding him with promotion after promotion. Martinez is most certainly responsible for his own behavior – and we hope the Arizona State Bar will hold him accountable – but so, too, are institutions and leaders who allowed his disgusting conduct to go unchecked.
That’s why in April we called for the resignation of Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. Then, as now, Montgomery must be held responsible for permitting Martinez to get away with a “sustained pattern of degrading and harassing women, including court reporters, defense counsel, and law clerks,” and for protecting Martinez from scrutiny or any real consequences.
Read more: https://www.azmirror.com/2019/08/22/bill-montgomery-juan-martinez-we-need-the-whole-truth/