Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Section Chief Counsel Kimberly Ortiz is the 2018 recipient of the State Bar of Arizona's Michael C. Cudahy Criminal Justice Award.
Ortiz is the Section Chief for the Attorney General’s Southern Arizona White Collar and Criminal Enterprise Section, where she supervises eight attorneys who prosecute large scale complex criminal cases. For the past 25 years, Ortiz has worked as a dedicated prosecutor to improve Arizona’s criminal justice system. Throughout her career, she has prosecuted some of Arizona’s most complex cases ranging from large-scale wire conspiracies involving drug trafficking organizations, to securities fraud, public corruption, and conflicts from local county attorneys.
“Kim is a brilliant and creative prosecutor who has successfully prosecuted some of Arizona’s most difficult and complex cases,” said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. “I am very proud to have her as part of our team. She pushes us to do better every day and represents the Attorney General's Office and the larger law enforcement community with a dedication and professionalism we all strive for."
In 2006, the State Bar established the Michael C. Cudahy Criminal Justice Award to recognize a criminal law prosecutor who has worked tirelessly to advance the principles of criminal justice by representing the public’s interest with integrity, fairness, tenacity, creativity, brilliance, and professionalism. Cudahy was also a prosecutor with the Attorney General’s Office who courageously sought the truth and fought for justice. He died in 2006 after a long battle with cancer.
Ortiz and Cudahy had worked together on cases.
Ortiz also runs a criminal prosecution clinic for the University of Arizona (U of A) law school. Currently the Attorney General’s Office has five summer interns from U of A working in the Tucson Office as part of the prosecution clinic.
