Homeless in Arizona

Maricopa judge drops election campaign amid scrutiny

Some of candidate's credentials questioned

by Sonu Munshi - Oct. 6, 2012 09:33 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

A Maricopa County justice of the peace has withdrawn from her election campaign, a week after The Arizona Republic questioned her education claims and other credentials.

Melanie DeForest apparently does not have the college degrees she claims to have and embellished her previous job experience, The Republic has found.

DeForest's profile on the Maricopa County Justice Courts website, which has now been removed, stated she has a bachelor's degree from the University of Utah and a master's degree from Arizona State University. A county court spokeswoman said the profile was provided by DeForest, who told The Republic she has bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal justice from the universities.

But a records check shows DeForest holds neither degree. She attended just more than one year at the University of Utah and was enrolled at ASU, but not in its master's program, according to the universities.

DeForest's resume does not go as far as the court website. The resume does not list her as graduating with a college degree, but it shows errors in the years of attendance. It also claims that she supervised 10 employees in a previous job. However, a human-resources executive with the company said that was not the case.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in August appointed DeForest to lead the Arrowhead Justice Court, which covers cases out of Peoria, Sun City and Glendale.

Justices of the peace handle criminal and civil cases such as traffic violations, small claims and restraining orders.

DeForest replaced former judge Phillip Woolbright, whom the state Supreme Court this summer ousted from the office because of ethical missteps.

DeForest had been running against nine others in the Nov. 6 election for the remaining two-year term on the post that pays $101,500 annually.

DeForest sent The Republic an e-mail on Friday to announce her withdrawal from the race.

"I cannot provide (college transcripts) in a timely manner and I would rather focus more on my family than politics at this time," the e-mail said.

She said she plans to remain until another justice of the peace takes office. She will then return to Utah to be with her children and family, she said.

The Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct has jurisdiction over all Arizona judges and judicial candidates. The commission has authority to reprimand a judge or recommend his or her removal for making misleading comments about education or past employment, according to a commission spokesman.

County officials said DeForest has promised to provide her transcripts.

County Board of Supervisors spokesman Richard de Uriarte noted in an e-mail that DeForest's resume did not claim the degrees and her appointment was based on strong recommendations, not academics.

"It is disappointing that in her subsequent comments that she might have inflated her credentials. All you have in this life is your word," he said.

Sheryl Rabin, spokeswoman for the Maricopa County Justice Courts, said the courts typically do not verify academics because justices of the peace in Arizona are not required to have any specific education.

The elected office requires each candidate be an Arizona resident, at least 18 years old, able to read and write English and a qualified voter in his or her precinct. Seeking answers

DeForest told The Republic in a phone interview Sept. 27 that she'd attended school under a different last name. The Republic researched her university attendance under three different last names she has held.

DeForest said that she has transcripts to show she has the degrees and that she would drop them off the next day. She did not. She sent an e-mail that evening saying she had been busy with work and would contact a reporter "sometime next week."

The following week, The Republic reached out to the justice-court spokeswoman, who spoke with DeForest.

Rabin said she would work with DeForest to get the transcripts by Thursday. That evening, DeForest sent an e-mail that she had ordered transcripts from the schools but could not meet the deadline. She said she realized "that you may have to go forward with printing your article."

County officials on Friday removed DeForest's biography from the county justice-courts website until DeForest provides transcripts.

The same day, DeForest announced her campaign withdrawal, noting it was "not a decision that I came to lightly." Fudging the facts

Prominent figures have gotten into trouble over false claims about their education.

A Notre Dame football coach in 2001 resigned after the university learned he lied about his academic and athletic background.

Earlier this year, Scott Thompson stepped down from a short-lived position as Yahoo's chief executive after it was discovered he didn't have a degree in computer science, as he claimed.

Locally, in 2010, former Democratic lawmaker Cloves Campbell Jr. claimed on the state legislative website to have a college degree, which academic records showed he had not completed.

Studies show as many as 40 percent of resumes contain phony information, according to Lester Rosen, chief executive of Employment Screening Resources, a San Francisco-based firm that conducts background checks.

He cautioned employers to verify credentials. If job seekers are dishonest as they seek work, there's a possibility that same characteristic would surface as an employee, Rosen said.

College degrees, inflated job titles or responsibilities and employment dates are among the most common embellishments, he said.

Although DeForest's resume to county supervisors did not claim a college degree, the document contains errors involving how long she attended school, how long she served in job posts and her work responsibilities:

DeForest's resume states she attended the University of Utah from January 2001 to June 2005. She attended just more than a year, from August 2004 to December 2005, with no degree earned, according to the university's verification system.

The resume indicates she attended Arizona State University from August 2006 to May 2008. She attended from fall 2005 to spring 2010, according to ASU records. She was a senior at the time of her last attendance and pursued, but did not complete, a bachelor of science degree in criminal justice and criminology, according to university records.

The resume indicates she had been an accounting manager overseeing 10 employees and handling personnel issues at a private apparel and accessories company in Utah. She was an accounting clerk, who didn't manage any employees or oversee personnel issues, according to a Del Sol payroll and benefits administrator who handles employment verification.

DeForest's resume states she worked at Del Sol from January 2001 to June 2005, but her last day was more than a year earlier, in May 2004, according to the Del Sol administrator. She had a severance package that ran through August 2004, the administrator said.

The resume states she began serving as a justice of the peace peace pro tem in January 2009, but she was appointed six months earlier, according to the Maricopa County Justice Courts.