SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH – A ransomware attack on the Arizona Federal Public Defender’s Office has caused significant setbacks in the death penalty case of Ralph Menzies, with defense attorneys requesting additional time to respond to key arguments concerning his mental competency.
Last week, defense attorneys filed a motion with the court, asking for an extension to file a reply brief in the case after a cyberattack compromised their ability to access critical case files. The office revealed that the attack had wiped out a nearly complete, 25-page draft of the brief, which was intended to address the State’s claims about Menzies’ fitness for execution.
As a result of the attack, the public defender’s office was forced to shut down its systems and barred employees from using personal devices for work, citing security concerns. The office’s IT team is still in the process of assessing the damage, and it remains unclear whether any of the lost data can be recovered, or how long it will take to regain access to the files.
In an effort to keep the case moving forward, the State has offered to provide the defense with discovery files and exhibits from its own records. This gesture aims to assist the defense as they rebuild their reply brief, which will address the State’s arguments about Menzies’ mental competency and whether he understands the nature of the death penalty proceedings against him.
The defense team has requested an extension until April 18 to file the revised brief, a request which District Judge Matthew Bates granted on Tuesday. The State did not object to the extension.
The reply brief is a crucial part of the legal proceedings, as it will help determine whether Menzies, who has been on death row in Utah for nearly four decades, is fit for execution. Menzies was convicted of the 1986 kidnapping and murder of Maurine Hunsaker, a mother and phone company employee.
The motion for an extension also led to the rescheduling of the oral arguments originally set for April 18. The new date for the arguments is May 7 at 2 p.m., in person.
This unexpected setback highlights the vulnerabilities faced by legal teams as they rely increasingly on digital infrastructure to manage sensitive information. While the full extent of the damage caused by the ransomware attack is still being determined, the court’s decision to allow additional time for the defense has temporarily eased some of the pressure on the case. However, the ongoing disruption is a reminder of the growing threats posed by cyberattacks in the legal and governmental sectors.