Campagnolo, Howe Honored by State Bar Association

(Phoenix, Ariz. – June 29, 2007) Assistant Attorneys General Theodore Campagnolo and Randall Howe were honored today during the 74th annual State Bar Association Convention at the Westin Kierland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale.

Campagnolo, Chief Counsel of the Arizona Attorney General’s Criminal Prosecutions Section, was presented with the Special Merit award. This award is given to State Bar members who have provided outstanding service to the Bar by furthering public understanding of the legal system.

Campagnolo oversees all criminal prosecutions for the Attorney General’s Office. The Criminal Prosecutions Section is composed of four units: Fraud and Public Corruption, Drug Prosecution, Medicaid Fraud Control and Tucson Criminal Trials. Campagnolo has 26 years of experience in both criminal prosecution and civil litigation. He also serves as vice-chair of the State Bar’s Criminal Jury Instructions Committee and is a member of the Arizona Supreme Court’s Committee on Examinations. He holds a Bachelor of Arts and a law degree from Southern Methodist University in Texas.

Howe, Chief Counsel of the Arizona Attorney General’s Criminal Appeals Section, was presented with the Distinguished Public Lawyer Award. This award is given to an Arizona lawyer who has had a distinguished career in public law and has performed other significant community service.

In 2006, Howe successfully defended a challenge to Arizona’s insanity defense in the U.S. Supreme Court. The case marked the first major ruling by the Supreme Court on insanity defense laws since many states, including Arizona, made them more restrictive following John Hinckley’s acquittal by reason of insanity in the 1981 shooting of President Ronald Reagan. The Arizona Legislature stiffened its law in 1993.

Howe has been with the Attorney General’s Office for 18 years. He chaired the State Bar’s Committee on Persons with Disabilities in the Legal Profession from 2005-2007 and is a member of the State Bar’s Diversity Task Force. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Center for Disability Law and the Arizona Bridge to Independent Living. He holds a Bachelor of Science and a law degree from Arizona State University.