Rachel Mitchell

Rachel Mitchell
Born 1967 (age 50–51)[1]
Nationality American
Years active 1993–present
Known for Arizona prosecutor
Notable work Questioned Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford
Political party Republican[1]

Rachel Hope Mitchell is a public prosecutor from the U.S. state of Arizona, currently serving as Deputy County Attorney and chief of the Special Victims Division in the Maricopa County Attorney's Office.[2] She was requested by the Senate Judiciary Committee to serve as Nomination Investigative Counsel and question both Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh on September 27, 2018 during Kavanaugh's widely-publicized confirmation hearings for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.[3][4][5][6]

Early life and education

Mitchell is a first-generation Arizonan whose father grew up on a farm in Arkansas and whose mother grew up in Pennsylvania in a small town. Mitchell attended Arizona State University in 1985, took a course at Phoenix College in the summer of 1987, and got a bachelor of science degree from Grand Canyon College, now known as Grand Canyon University.[7] She earned her law degree in 1992 from the ASU's College of Law.[1]

Mitchell worked at the Arizona Capitol Times newspaper, in the late 1980s. She interviewed candidates running for elected office and wrote summaries of decisions by the courts. Mitchell later worked as adjunct faculty at Grand Canyon University, where she taught a three-credit course on the court system.[1]

Mitchell has been a current, registered member of the Arizona bar since 1993.[8] In 2003, Mitchell was recognized by Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano as "Outstanding Arizona Sexual Assault Prosecutor of the Year." She was promoted to the Maricopa County prosecutor's office sex crimes division chief by newly elected county attorney Andrew Thomas in 2004 to replace previous chief Cindi Nannetti.[9]

Mitchell spent 12 years in charge of the sex-crimes bureau, which prosecutes crimes including adult sexual assault and child molestation. Currently, Mitchell is the Chief of the Special Victims Division and leads the bureau involved with sex crimes and family assault.[10]

In 2014, a commission recommended her as a possible judicial candidate in Arizona.[11] Mitchell has overseen and assisted in prosecuting some high-profile sexual assault cases in Arizona, including ones against churches, youth camps, law enforcement, and members of clergy.[12][13][14] In her position in Maricopa County, she has advocated strengthening sex assault laws in the state and has pushed for changes in the courtroom to comfort victims testifying in abuse cases. Mitchell made headlines in 2016 after allowing a golden retriever mix named Sam to assist children when they were testifying about traumatic episodes.[15][16][17]

Mitchell's name appears on a list of Arizona "lobbyist updates" for the week of March 26, 2018.[18]

Senate Judiciary Committee hearings (2018)

In September 2018, Mitchell took a leave of absence from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office in order to serve as Investigative Counsel for the United States Senate.[19] T The committee's Democratic senators questioned Ford and Kavanaugh themselves.[20] During the coverage of the hearing, CBS News described Mitchell as "a career prosecutor with decades of experience prosecuting sex crimes".[21] Following the hearing, she issued a memorandum concluding a reasonable prosecutor would not file charges based on the evidence before the committee, nor even seek a search warrant.[22][23][24]

On September 29, 2018 and October 6, 2018, Mitchell was portrayed by actress Aidy Bryant in the Saturday Night Live opening sketch, and referred to in the "Weekend Update" segment.[25][26][27]

Recognition

Mitchell was named the prosecutor of the year by her office in 2006. Later in her career, she was recognized as the “Outstanding Arizona Sexual Assault Prosecutor of the Year” by Arizona Governor, Janet Napolitano and state attorney general Terry Goddard.[28]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "EXCLUSIVE: Rachel Mitchell: percussionist, prosecutor, martial artist". azcentral. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  2. ↑ CNN, Veronica Stracqualursi,. "Woman representing Republicans at Kavanaugh hearing has lengthy history of prosecuting sex crimes". CNN. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  3. ↑ "GOP Hires Female Sex-Crimes Prosecutor to Question Judge, Accuser". Wall Street Journal. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Who is Rachel Mitchell, the prosecutor hired to question Kavanaugh's accuser during Senate hearing?". Fox News. September 27, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  5. ↑ "What We Know About Rachel Mitchell, the Prosecutor Set to Question Christine Blasey Ford". New York Times. September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Rachel Mitchell, an Arizona county sex crimes prosecutor, emerges as top GOP choice to question Kavanaugh accuser before committee". New York Times. September 25, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  7. ↑ Kryska, Ryan (September 27, 2018). "GCU alum at center of congressional assault hearing". Grand Canyon University News. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Rachel Mitchell". Justia Law. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  9. ↑ Leonard, Christina. New Maricopa County attorney shakes up staff, Arizona Republic (Phoenix, Arizona) January 10, 2005, page 19 - accessed via Newspapers.com
  10. ↑ Ryman, Anne (September 9, 2015). "ASU forms SVU to investigate sexual assaults on campus". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ McBride, Jessica (September 26, 2018). "Rachel Mitchell, Maricopa AZ Prosecutor: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ Calderon, Catherin (July 11, 2014). "Ex-Valley church camp counselor gets 30 years for sex abuse". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  13. ↑ Walsh, Jim (January 9, 2015). "Judge sends ex-Mesa officer's case back to grand jury". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  14. ↑ Walsh, Jim (April 28, 2015). "Sex-assault charges dropped for former Mesa officer". The Republic. Azcentral.com. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  15. ↑ "Minutes of the MAG Regional Domestic Violence Council Meeting" (PDF). Marciopa Association of Government. June 7, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Minutes of the MAG Regional Domestic Violence Council Meeting" (PDF). Marciopa Association of Government. April 5, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Meeting Notification and Transmittal of Tentative Agenda" (PDF). Marciopa Association of Government. July 30, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Meeting Notification and Transmittal of Tentative Agenda". Arizona Capitol Times. March 26, 2018. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Meet Rachel Mitchell, the woman questioning Ford about her Kavanaugh allegations at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing". Business Insider. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  20. ↑ Gabbatt, Adam. "Rachel Mitchell: who is the prosecutor grilling Christine Blasey Ford?". The Guardian. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Brett Kavanaugh confirmation: Kavanaugh testifies following Ford's questioning on sex assault allegations - live updates". CBS. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
  22. ↑ Lapin, Tamar (October 1, 2018). "Prosecutor's memo scrutinizes 'inconsistencies' in Christine Blasey-Ford's testimony". New York Post. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  23. ↑ de Vogue, Ariane (October 1, 2018). "Outside counsel tells Republican senators 'reasonable prosecutor' would not bring Ford case against Kavanaugh". USA Today. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  24. ↑ Price, Greg (October 1, 2018). "Christine Blasey Ford's Case Weaker Than 'He Said, She Said," Says GOP-Hired Sex Crimes Lawyer". Newsweek. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  25. ↑ Pallotta, Frank (September 30, 2018). "'SNL' has Matt Damon play an angry Brett Kavanaugh". CNN. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  26. ↑ Tuchiano, Danielle (September 29, 2018). "Matt Damon Appears as Brett Kavanaugh in 'Saturday Night Live' Premiere (Watch)". Variety. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  27. ↑ Gilbert, Sophie (October 7, 2018). "Saturday Night Live Whiffs the Kavanaugh Confirmation". The Atlantic. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  28. ↑ Lord, Debby. "Who is Rachel Mitchell, the woman who will be questioning Ford, Kavanaugh?". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved September 27, 2018.
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