Molly Brizgys
ATTORNEY
Molly has practiced criminal law for over twenty years at the highest levels of both state and federal courts. The through-line of her work has been doggedly defending the constitutional rights and civil liberties of her clients in criminal, civil, and administrative arenas. She is a tenacious litigator no matter what stage the case is: pre-charge, headed to trial, on appeal, or in post-conviction or federal habeas corpus proceedings.
A methodical and experienced appellate attorney, she has argued and won published decisions on important issues of criminal law in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, the Arizona Supreme Court, and the Arizona Court of Appeals.
In recent years, a significant portion of her practice has included defending a variety of entities and professionals in the health sciences fields.
Molly has also successfully represented a multitude of individuals in the university hearing process including those facing Title IX and academic integrity issues.
Molly graduated from Stanford University as an English major. She graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Francisco School of Law where she was the Editor-in-Chief of the USF Law Review. In her spare time, she enjoys backpacking in the wilds of Northwestern Montana with her family.
Crespin v. Ryan, 46 F.4th 803 (9th Cir. 2022)
Crespin v. Ryan, 51 F.4th 819, 820 (9th Cir. 2022)
Crespin v. Ryan, 56 F.4th 796 (9th Cir. 2023)
State v. Gordon in & for Cnty. of Mohave, 581 P.3d 215 (Ariz. 2025)
State v. Murray, 250 Ariz. 543, 546, 482 P.3d 1038, 1041 (2021)
Matter of Cortez, 247 Ariz. 534, 453 P.3d 813 (Ct. App. 2019)
- New sentencing hearing ordered for life sentence
- Dismissal of a federal firearms offense under an obscure provision of the tax code
- Probation sentence for firearms straw purchaser
- Deferred sentencing agreement for federal drug felony charge
- Convinced county attorney not to charge multiple luring offenses
- Not guilty verdict for several domestic violence offenses
- Not guilty verdict for misdemeanor criminal damage
- Successfully suppressed methamphetamine due to a Fourth Amendment violation which resulted in dismissal of the felony drug charge
- Successfully won release for a client incarcerated for 25 years on her first hearing before the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency
- CALI award winner, Contracts
- CALI award winner, Federal Courts
- McAuliffe Honor Society (2001-2004)
- Member of the Stanford Judicial Committee (1997)
- Incoming President, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice
- Co-chair, Amicus and Rules Committee, Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice
- Secretary, Women’s White Collar Defense Association, Phoenix Chapter
- Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU
- Criminal Justice Act Attorney, District Court of Arizona
- New Hampshire Public Defender
- Co-Convenor, Phoenix Law Day 2025
- Volunteer, Court-Works Civics Program
- Judge, Ninth Circuit Civics Contest
- Board of Advisors, ASU’s School of Social Transformation
- Cooperating Attorney, Arizona Justice Project
- Desert Botanical Garden Children/Family Garden Experience Working Group
- Appeals and Special Actions: Preserving the Record, AACJ DUI Seminar, May 2026
- Hot Topics in Ethics: AI and Third-Party Privilege Issues, Women’s White Collar Defense Association CLE, February 2026
- Opening and Closing remarks on the Rule of Law, National Law Day, Sandra Day O’Connor Federal Courthouse, May 5, 2025
- The Fourth Amendment in the Digital Age: Strategies to reinvigorate your
- Practice, AACJ Winter Conference, January 2025
- Electronic devices & digital information, search warrants, and the Stored Communications Act (18 U.S.C. § 2701), Women’s White Collar Defense Association Lunchtime CLE, February 2025
- Not a Lost Art: Using a Polygraph in a Criminal Case, AACJ Winter Conference, January 2024
- Amicus Brief Nuts and Bolts, AACJ Winter Conference, January 2024
- The Biggest Fraud in Arizona History: Behavioral Health and AHCCCS, Arizona Society of Health Care Attorneys Annual Conference, February 2024
- Federal Court Basics, presentation to legal assistants, receptionists, and paralegals, August 2024
- New Ways to Defend Health Care Fraud Cases: Using Publicly Available Data and Bonus SCOTUS Criminal Round-up, Women’s White Collar Defense Association Lunchtime CLE, February 2023
- Brush & Nib Legal Q&A, presented to LGBTQ Community, Trinity Cathedral, September 2019
- New Hampshire (2004)
- Arizona (2010)
- New Hampshire Supreme Court (2004)
- Arizona Supreme Court (2012)
- Arizona District Court (2010)
- Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (2015)