State v. Murray

In State v. Murray, 194 Ariz. 373, 982 P.2d 1287 (1999), the supreme court acknowledged that the legislature had intended the statutory amendments on parole eligibility to apply retroactively. However, the court held that the legislature "'may not disturb vested substantive rights by retroactively changing the law that applies to completed events . . . and cannot change the legal consequence of events completed before a statute's enactment.'" 194 Ariz. 373, P 6, 982 P.2d at 1289 Adding that it is for the judiciary to decide whether the legal consequences of a change in the law are substantive or procedural, the court held that parole eligibility rights are substantive, not procedural. 194 Ariz. 373, P 6, 982 P.2d at 1289.