Arizona American Civil Liberties Union

PHOENIX -- Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas continued his assault against opponent Tim Nelson Monday, accusing him of "misusing" his position as general counsel to Gov. Janet Napolitano in order to benefit the American Civil Liberties Union, who Nelson had represented in private practice.

Thomas claims that Nelson gave a "sweetheart deal" to the ACLU when he approved the settlement of a lawsuit it filed against the Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) over allegations of racial profiling. The state had to pay attorney's fees to the ACLU and was granted what Thomas termed "an unprecedented role in the regulation of police officers."

"The terms of the settlement were very detrimental to public safety and the taxpayers," said Thomas at a press conference in downtown Phoenix. "My opponent was an ACLU lawyer, and that meant that the proceeds of that settlement were for former colleagues that represented that soft on crime organization."

Nelson represented the ACLU in one case that took place in the late 1990s, when the organization sued the city of Gilbert to stop its mayor from issuing an proclamation that called for the observance of "Bible Week."