Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett Honored with Prestigious Statewide Criminal Justice Award

Gila Herald Staff Reports

TUCSON — Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett has been awarded the prestigious Michael C. Cudahy Criminal Justice Award by the State Bar of Arizona. The honor was presented on Friday, June 26, during the State Bar’s annual convention luncheon in Tucson.

Established in March 2006, the Michael C. Cudahy Criminal Justice Award is given annually to just one prosecutor selected by the State Bar’s Selection Committee. It recognizes a criminal law prosecutor who works tirelessly to advance the principles of criminal justice by representing the public’s interest with integrity, fairness, tenacity, creativity, brilliance, and, above all, professionalism.

Bennett’s selection marks a historic milestone for the Gila Valley, as he is the first recipient of the Cudahy award from Graham County and one of only a few prosecutors from a rural county to ever receive the statewide honor.

A Career Dedicated to the Gila Valley

Bennett’s legal career in Graham County spans nearly two decades. After serving for 10 years as the county’s Chief Deputy, he was elected Graham County Attorney in 2020 following the retirement of his predecessor, Kenny Angle. Voters overwhelmingly re-elected him to the position in 2024.

Beyond his local duties in Safford, Bennett is a highly influential figure in Arizona’s wider legal landscape and currently serves as the Chair of the Arizona Prosecuting Attorneys’ Advisory Council (APAAC). Additionally, his fellow County Attorneys elected him to represent the state nationally as Arizona’s Delegate and Board Member to the National District Attorneys Association (NDAA).

This is not the first time Bennett has been recognized for his work in the courtroom; he was previously named the State of Arizona Felony Prosecutor of the Year in 2017.

Bipartisan and Statewide Support

Bennett was nominated for the Cudahy award by Elizabeth Ortiz, the Executive Director of APAAC. In her nomination letter to the State Bar, Ortiz praised Bennett’s multi-faceted dedication to public service.

“Scott is more than a lawyer. Scott represents justice, and he models what it means to be a positive member of society,” Ortiz wrote. “Scott shows up for victims, trying challenging homicide and sexual assault cases. He shows up for his team… and Scott shows up for the greater community.”

Ortiz’s nomination packet was backed by an extensive, statewide coalition of legal leaders who submitted letters of support, including:

• Ammon Barker, Coconino County Attorney
• William Ring, 2024 Cudahy Award Recipient and Coconino County Chief Civil Deputy
• Michael Tunink, Coconino County Chief Criminal Deputy
• Nelson Bunn, Executive Director of the National District Attorneys Association
• Brad Carlyon, Navajo County Attorney
• Dr. David Hess, M.D., Trustee & Immediate Past President of the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Prescott
• Nicholas Klingermann, Criminal Division Chief Counsel for the Office of the Arizona Attorney General
• Luis Santaella, Scottsdale City Attorney

“I Love Being a Prosecutor”

While addressing the convention at the Tucson luncheon, Bennett expressed his profound gratitude for the award and thanked the residents of Graham County for their continued trust.

“I love being a prosecutor,” Bennett told the crowd, emphasizing the immense responsibility that comes with municipal discretion.

“What I am grateful to do today is to be able to help people,” Bennett explained. “[Being] entrusted with the discretion to look at the individual and make the determination as to whether or not that this is a good person that had a bad day, and we can best serve by helping them, or it’s someone we need to put away.”