State Appeals Court rules against owner of Pruitt's

Michael Kiefer

The Arizona Republic
Dec. 25, 2007 11:18 PM

The Arizona Court of Appeals has turned down a Phoenix furniture store owner's ongoing request to make police arrest day workers soliciting business near his property.

M.D. Pruitt's Home Furnishings on Thomas Road in Phoenix has been the scene of pro- and anti-immigration demonstrations for more than a year since its owner, Roger Sensing, first hired off-duty Phoenix police officers and then Maricopa County sheriff's deputies to keep day workers off the premises.

In August 2006, Sensing filed suit in Maricopa County Superior Court against Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris for failing to enforce a city ordinance that prohibits solicitation on city streets. A Superior Court judge dismissed the case in February, and Sensing appealed.

On Dec. 20, the Court of Appeals affirmed the lower-court decision, saying that such law-enforcement decisions are discretionary, not mandated, and therefore not subject to court orders.