Maricopa County, Pima County and the city of Tucson have filed a civil lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court challenging the constitutionality of Arizona's new wrongful-conviction compensation law, arguing it strips local governments of any voice in cases that could leave them on the hook for millions. The suit lands as 11 people wrongly convicted of crimes have already applied for compensation under the law, far outpacing the $3 million the state set aside to pay them.
A Law Born on the Last Day of the Session
Senate Bill 1500 passed on the final day of Arizona's 2025 legislative session and took effect Jan. 1, 2026, establishing a formal process for people wrongfully convicted of felonies and incarcerated to seek compensation from the state, according to the lawsuit's description of the law as cited in the Phoenix New Times. The demand was immediate: four people requested compensation from the state just after midnight on Jan. 1, becoming the first claimants under the new law, all of whom had spent time incarcerated for crimes they did not commit, per the same report. As reported by KJZZ, four of those applications were filed mere seconds after the calendar flipped to the new year.
By mid-February, the pace had not slowed. Eleven individuals wrongly convicted of crimes had applied for millions of dollars in compensation from the state, swamping a fund that holds only $3 million, the station reported. The filed claims already account for the entire $3 million the Legislature allocated for the program's first year, according to the lawsuit as described by the Phoenix New Times.
How the Payouts Are Calculated
Under the law, approved compensation claims provide 200% of Arizona's median household income for each year of incarceration, adjusted for inflation, KJZZ reported. Senate Bill 1500 also allows up to $500,000 per claim for additional costs and damages, covering things like mental health care, attorney fees and financial literacy courses, per the same KJZZ account. Tucson.com reported that the Attorney General's Office must refer applications to court within 30 days of receiving them, with the option to seek an extension.
One unnamed official told tucson.com, “I'm guessing we have now maxed out the fund,” underscoring the gap between the Legislature's initial allocation and the scale of claims pouring in. Arizona legislators did not add more funding during the 2026 session, according to the Phoenix New Times, and the program's current funding is scheduled to run out in July 2027 unless lawmakers find a sustainable funding source, KJZZ reported — a deadline echoed by the Arizona Justice Project, which notes the program expires July 1, 2027 absent new funding.
Counties Say the Law Cuts Them Out of Court
At the center of the counties' lawsuit is a constitutional argument: Maricopa County contends the new law forces courts to decide innocence claims outside the normal post-conviction process, and that it creates a statutory exception affecting Arizona Supreme Court rules for courts, according to the lawsuit complaint as reported by the Phoenix New Times. The complaint further alleges that Senate Bill 1500 denies cities and counties the ability to intervene in compensation claims and prohibits them from defending themselves against those claims altogether, with no path to appeal.
Maricopa County and its co-plaintiffs argue that counties and cities sued for money damages have a right to defend themselves, and say the law places local governments at risk of significant financial liability without a fair chance to defend their interests. The plaintiffs say they support a compensation and support process for people erroneously convicted in Arizona courts, but argue they are instead seeking to avoid financial responsibility being imposed through a process that gives them no voice, per the lawsuit complaint.
The lawsuit names the State of Arizona, Attorney General Kris Mayes, Department of Public Safety Director Colonel Jeffrey Glover, Department of Corrections Director Ryan Thornell and Department of Administration Director Elizabeth Alvarado-Thorson as defendants, all named in their official capacities, according to the Phoenix New Times. Under the law, implicated counties and cities must reimburse the compensation fund when their employees committed harmful error or misconduct, which the counties argue makes them financially exposed despite having no role in the claims process.
Bill Sponsor Says He'll Try to Refine It
Khyl Powell, the Republican state representative from Gilbert who authored Senate Bill 1500, said he would work to refine the bill, and identified funding and its source as a main focus of that effort, according to the Phoenix New Times. Powell said, per the Arizona Capitol Times as cited in that report, that people should not quarrel over responsibility for compensating the wrongfully convicted.
Jason Berry, deputy director of communications for Maricopa County, declined to comment on the lawsuit, the Phoenix New Times reported. The lawsuit's plaintiffs did not respond to requests for comment from the outlet either.
How Arizona's Approach Compares
Arizona's statute places it among a growing number of states with wrongful-conviction compensation laws, though sources differ on the exact count — the National Registry of Exonerations put the national total at 38 states plus the District of Columbia as of August 2026. Comparable cases elsewhere show how costly these claims can get: Nevada approved Cathy Woods for $2.85 million after her wrongful conviction was vacated and charges against her were dismissed, and she later received an additional $6 million through separate lawsuits against the Nevada county and city that prosecuted her, according to the Arizona State Law Journal.
Estimates of how often Arizona convictions have been overturned also vary. A legislative fiscal note put the number at 24 exonerations in the state since 1989, with an average of 5.6 years lost to wrongful imprisonment, according to a fiscal note filed with the Arizona Legislature. The Arizona Justice Project, citing the National Registry of Exonerations, instead counted 25 such cases in Arizona since 2019, with an average of 5.8 years spent behind bars. Neither figure has been reconciled in the available records.
For now, the fate of the $3 million fund — and the 11 pending claims already stacked against it — rests on how the Maricopa County Superior Court handles the counties' constitutional challenge, even as the clock ticks toward the program's July 2027 funding cliff.
