The facts
Internal emails obtained by Fox News Digital reveal that Chief Deputy Attorney General Daniel Barr contacted the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Prison Law Office (PLO) in February, April and May 2023 asking for attorney recommendations to work for the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR). Barr wrote, I am looking to bring as much ADCRR work back in‑house as possible… please let me know if you know of anyone who may be interested. After receiving no responses, he followed up noting there were “no takers” for the ADCRR general‑counsel position. The ACLU’s National Prison Project director David Fathi replied, promising to “redouble” efforts to find a candidate. Both the ACLU and PLO have a history of suing Arizona’s corrections system and advocate reductions in incarceration. ADCRR ultimately hired Ashley Oddo as general counsel; Oddo was not mentioned in the email exchanges and has no formal affiliation with either group.
Our take
What the hell is happening in Arizona’s Attorney General’s office? The very fucking agency tasked with defending the state’s prisons is emailing the ACLU and the Prison Law Office - two groups that have spent years suing those same prisons - and asking them to hand over lawyer recommendations. That’s not just a sloppy hiring practice; it’s a textbook conflict of interest that makes you wonder whether the office even knows which side of the courtroom fence it’s supposed to be on. Daniel Barr, a top aide, leaned on his old contacts at the ACLU and PLO, reminding them of his past collaboration on a federal case that found Arizona’s prison conditions constitutionally inadequate. He then begged for candidates to fill the ADCRR general‑counsel slot, even whining that “no takers” had responded. The ACLU’s David Fathi’s promise to “redouble” efforts reads like a smug invitation to sabotage the very agency they’re suing. It’s akin to asking a burglar to install your home security system. The irony is staggering: the AG’s office touts a law‑and‑order stance, boasts record fentanyl seizures, and yet its own recruitment emails reveal a desperate scramble for help from its most vocal critics. Hiring someone who has spent their career challenging the department to run that department is a strategic nightmare that could undermine any legal defense the state mounts. Even though ADCRR eventually hired Ashley Oddo - who, while not directly linked to the ACLU or PLO, carries a progressive criminal‑justice résumé - the email trail exposes a deeper problem. It suggests an office so out of sync with its mission that it turns to ideological opponents for staffing, eroding public confidence and opening the door to potential legal challenges about bias and improper influence.
