She's our woman in Phoenix

But Mayer isn't presenting closing arguments to a jury of 12 citizens these days. Instead, she's dispensing evidence and information to 90 state lawmakers on a variety of justice-related bills.

For the second time in three years, Mayer has been dispatched to lobby the Legislature on an estimated 200 to 300 law-enforcement-related bills that will be presented over the course of the session.

Last year, budgets and caseloads prevented Pima County Attorney Barbara LaWall from sending a representative to the capital, a practice she inherited from predecessor Steve Neely. Mayer's absence didn't go unnoticed.

State Rep. Jonathan Paton was working on criminal justice-related bills, and he needed answers fast. His first call was to Mayer, who had helped him before. When he learned she wasn't there, Paton had to seek help from the handful of prosecutors Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas assigns to the Legislature annually.

"I'm much more interested in hearing from people in my area, though," said Paton, R-Tucson.

LaWall said she came to realize just how crucial it is to have a full-time representative in Phoenix during the legislative session, even if it comes at the expense of taking one of her most recognized prosecutors out of the courtroom temporarily.

"Legislation has a significant impact on how we do business, and if it's not well done, it can have an unintended impact. It's very, very important work," LaWall said.

She said Mayer is a good choice for that assignment because "Kathleen is extraordinarily talented, not just in the courtroom, but in all aspects of the law.

"She has dedicated herself to be a voice for justice and a voice for victims, and there's no better place for her than in the Legislature," LaWall said.

So, since early January, Mayer has been meeting with legislators, answering their questions, proposing new laws and tracking the progress of legislation, either in person or on the Internet. She also spends much of her time on her cell phone, talking with prosecutors from other counties and municipalities.

"Thank God for cell phones," Mayer said. "I don't know how you'd do this job without them or without the Internet."

Before leaving for Phoenix, she spent most of her time work-ing with the Pima County Sheriff's Department's cold-case unit.

Last October, she obtained a first-degree murder conviction for Tyrone Kessler, who was accused of raping and murdering Katherine Young in May 1987. The veteran prosecutor is also well-known for handling many of the county's animal-cruelty cases.

Mayer sees bills that pertain to everything from gangs and driving under the influence to Child Protective Services and employer sanctions.

"You need someone with experience in Phoenix," Mayer said. "You need someone who is able to talk off-the-cuff with legislators in hallways, in meetings and during committee sessions. They get to ask you questions, and you better have answers.

"Really important decisions get made up there, and if the legislators aren't aware of the potential outcomes, things can get away from you," she said. "There could be some unintended consequences. There are a lot of lawyers up there, but not very many prosecutors."

This session, Paton has introduced several bills concerning Child Protective Services, one of which had Mayer's help.

Paton wants prosecutors to be more involved when CPS investigates abuse allegations.

To buttress his case for the bill, Mayer told him about a 14-year-old boy who could not be prosecuted for raping a small child because CPS investigators did not consult with prosecutors before doing some key interviews and ended up tainting witnesses.

"You can bet that when I talk with other legislators, I will use this example," Paton said. "I couldn't have come up with that story on my own."

Paton invited Mayer to a meeting with interested parties before the bill was submitted.

"A lot of the people in the room didn't know who she was, but she pretty much dominated the discussion, but not in a bad way," Paton said. "She had the sort of moral authority to convince people that this is how it works."

Mayer is also lobbying for Senate Bill 1354, which would hold people who direct others to commit crimes just as accountable as the person who actually commits the crime.

She helped draft the bill because a Pima County Superior Court judge told prosecutors last year that they had no legal standing to charge Dominique Martinez, a drug lord and accused murderer, with trying to have a police officer killed prior to his capture.

Martinez is now serving a life sentence for the murder, but prosecutors would like to have held him accountable for the attempted murder of the officer.

Prosecuting suspected killers and educating legislators are both stressful job occupations, but for different reasons, Mayer said.

When she can't sway a jury to convict someone, she feels badly for the victim's family. When she can't sway legislators, it can have broader implications for an entire community, Mayer said.

In the courtroom, Mayer said, there are ways to overcome obstacles. That isn't always the case in Phoenix.

"There are some legislators who aren't from this county that are very heavy ideologues, and there's nothing I can say to sway them," Mayer said. "All I can do is get them the information they need. Once I do that, it's out of my hands."

Mayer objects to the term "lobbyist" because she says it has negative connotations.

"Our job is to make sure legislators have the best information available to them so they understand the impact their bills could have," Mayer said. "If we're not up there, things could happen that would put the citizens of this community at risk."

Despite her temporary assignment, Mayer is still handling about a dozen cases, including the upcoming resentencing of convicted killer Robert Moody, LaWall said.

In addition, Mayer trains staff in-house and law-enforcement officers, LaWall said.

"She has dedicated herself to be a voice for justice and a voice for victims, and there's no better place for her than in the Legislature."

Barbara LaWall, Pima County attorney, referring to Kathleen Mayer