Arizona Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments from Arizona Republican Party Appealing Sanctions over Election Lawsuit, Grills Opposing Attorney

Arizona Supreme Court

The Arizona Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week from the Arizona Republican Party (AZGOP) and opposing litigant Secretary of State (AZSOS) over lower courts awarding sanctions against the AZGOP for filing a “groundless” lawsuit “in bad faith.” The AZGOP sued Arizona officials immediately after the 2020 election for conducting a post-election audit that the AZGOP contended did not comply with the law. The AZGOP said the law required the audit to be conducted at the precinct level, but the audit was conducted at the voting center level according to the state’s Election Procedures Manual (EPG), which the AZGOP claimed contradicted state law. 

The AZGOP said A.R.S. § 16-602 requires precinct-level audits. The relevant part of that statute, (B)(1), provides, “ At least two percent of the precincts in that county, or two precincts, whichever is greater, shall be selected at random from a pool consisting of every precinct in that county.” In contrast, the EPM states that in counties which utilize vote centers, vote centers will be used for the audits. 

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Kari Lake’s Attorney Bryan Blehm Files Answer to the State Bar of Arizona’s Disciplinary Charges, Addresses Issue Regarding 35,563 Unaccounted for Ballots

Arizona State Bar

The State Bar of Arizona (SBA) is proceeding with two counts against Kari Lake’s attorney Bryan Blehm for referencing in a brief that 35,563 ballots were unaccounted for due to chain of custody problems at Maricopa County’s third-party early ballot processor, Runbeck Election Services, and for criticizing the Arizona judiciary. Representing himself, Blehm filed a 94-page Answer to the SBA’s charges on January 25. 

In Count 1, the SBA accused Blehm of “misleading” the Arizona Supreme Court. The first half of the SBA’s case against Blehm consists of claiming that he lied when he stated in a pleading that both parties in Lake’s election challenge agreed that there was a discrepancy of 35,563 ballots unaccounted for due to chain of custody problems at Runbeck. Blehm asserted in the Lake brief, “The record indisputably reflects at least 35,563 Election Day early ballots, for which there is no record of delivery to Runbeck, were added at Runbeck….” 

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Kari Lake’s Attorney Bryan Blehm Files Answer to the State Bar of Arizona’s Disciplinary Charges, Addresses Issue Regarding 35,563 Unaccounted for Ballots

The State Bar of Arizona (SBA) is proceeding with two counts against Kari Lake’s attorney Bryan Blehm for referencing in a brief that 35,563 ballots were unaccounted for due to chain of custody problems at Maricopa County’s third-party early ballot processor, Runbeck Election Services, and for criticizing the Arizona judiciary.

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Arizona Supreme Court Intervenes in Recorder’s Defamation Case Against Kari Lake; Puts Proceedings on Hold to Consider Early Appeal

The Arizona Supreme Court has placed a defamation lawsuit that Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer filed against Kari Lake on hold. The court said no more proceedings in the lawsuit can take place in the trial court until Richer responds to Lake’s Petition for Review she filed with the higher court. While higher courts don’t usually intervene until a case has made its way through trial court proceedings, Arizona State University’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law  First Amendment Clinic joined Lake in her defense requesting that the lawsuit be dismissed, a sign the clinic may believe Richer’s lawsuit is without merit. 

Lake told The Arizona Sun Times, “This is a censorship case — pure and simple. The government official suing me is being represented by Obama- and Soros-linked attorneys. Stephen Richer ran banana-Republic style elections in Maricopa County and he doesn’t want to be held accountable. His use of tyrannical lawfare is an assault on our freedom of speech and is election interference designed to distract me from the very important United States Senate race where I am the leading candidate. He is OK with the First Amendment being trampled so he can save face.”

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State Bar of Arizona Finds Probable Cause in Investigation of Kari Lake’s Attorney, He Expects to Be Disbarred

The State Bar of Arizona is pursuing charges against Kari Lake’s attorney, Bryan Blehm, not merely investigating complaints filed by others. The Arizona Bar told him it has already found probable cause to continue its proceedings against him, which means it will likely result in disbarment. The charges accuse Blehm of violating five ethical rules frequently used as catchall rules to disbar attorneys.

Kari Lake told The Arizona Sun Times, “I will represent myself before I drop the case. [Attorney] Kurt [Olsen] and Bryan are heroes.”

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Arizona Supreme Court Petitioned to Change Who Can Vote on Certain Judges

Even though appellate court judges deal out precedent-setting rulings statewide, those judges are elected only by those in their areas.

With the aid of former Supreme Court Justice Andrew Gould, the Goldwater Institute is representing four Arizonans in Knight, et al. v. Fontes. The case, brought directly to the state Supreme Court, seeks to make appellate court judicial retention elections a statewide matter instead of split into divisions.

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Arizona Supreme Court to Review Abortion Laws

The Arizona Supreme Court will review the state’s abortion laws, which puts both the currently enforced 15-week ban and a more restrictive 1864 territorial ban back in play.

A state appeals court previously ruled in December in the case of Planned Parenthood v. Mayes that the 15-week ban that was signed into law by Gov. Doug Ducey would take over state law, and Mayes said it’s preferable to the alternative.

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Latest Round of Legal Filings in Abe Hamadeh’s Election Challenge Pick Apart Arizona AG Kris Mayes’ 280-Vote Lead

Abe Hamadeh is forging ahead, challenging his 280-vote loss to Democrat Kris Mayes in the attorney general’s race, the closest statewide race in Arizona’s history. He is in the midst of challenging the trial court’s refusal to grant him a new trial after discovering that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs withheld evidence from him prior to his trial regarding undervotes, votes that were not counted that resulted in narrowing Mayes’ lead. On Wednesday, he filed a reply to Mayes’ objections simultaneously with two amicus curiae briefs in support; one from Arizona legislative leadership and one from the America First Legal Foundation.

Hamadeh’s reply brief, primarily authored by Jennifer Wright, who previously served as the Attorney General’s Election Integrity Unit civil attorney, pointed out various contradictions in Mayes’ response. Mayes claimed that Hamadeh was “both too fast and too slow in attempting to obtain relief in this Court,” the brief stated. On the one hand, Mayes claimed that Hamadeh was causing “unreasonable delay,” yet she still asked for a regular appeals process, not a speedy one. 

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Hamadeh Vows He ‘Won’t Stop Fighting’ as Top Arizona Republicans, America First Legal Rally Behind Election Challenge

Abe Hamadeh

Leading Republicans in the Arizona Legislature, alongside America First Legal (AFL), lodged amicus briefs on Wednesday, throwing their support behind Abraham Hamadeh’s petition to the Arizona Supreme Court for a retrial of his 2022 election contest. Hamadeh is petitioning for a fresh trial citing newly surfaced evidence, purportedly dubious rulings from the presiding Mohave County judge, and an effort to stave off protracted legal disputes over his election that could last well into 2024.

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma filed an amicus brief in support of Hamadeh on the same day AFL filed its own. Hamadeh, whose race against Attorney General Kris Mayes was the closest in Arizona history with only 280 votes now stand between the candidates, celebrated the development.

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AG Kris Mayes Asks Arizona Supreme Court to Reject New Abraham Hamadeh Trial

An attorney representing Attorney General Kris Mayes has asked the Arizona Supreme Court to refuse Abe Hamadeh’s request for a new trial for his election lawsuit contesting his purported loss, and asked the court to force Hamadeh to pay Mayes’ legal fees.

Lawyers for Mayes claimed argued that Hamadeh’s team could have worked to expedite his legal cases, has not asked the current judge for a final decision, and once acceded it did not have enough evidence to overthrow the election.

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Concerns Arise over Arizona Supreme Court’s Task Force on Countering Disinformation

Scott Ruston and Dawn Gilpin

The Arizona Supreme Court launched a Task Force on Countering Disinformation in 2019 that is raising concerns. It is the first state court system in the country to establish one. The task force has issued two reports with recommendations since its launch.

The task force members include some partisans, and none of them appear to be conservative.

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Abe Hamadeh Asks Arizona Supreme Court for New Trial, Says Previous Trial Revealed Enough Uncounted Votes to Possibly Change Election

Abe Hamadeh

Abe Hamadeh filed a Petition for Special Action with the Arizona Supreme Court on Friday asking the court to consider providing him with a new trial in his election lawsuit contesting losing the attorney general’s race. Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee F. Jantzen denied Abe Hamadeh’s request for a new trial in July, despite the fact Hamadeh discovered that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs withheld evidence of undervotes in Pinal County, which led to Kris Mayes’ lead shrinking to only 280 votes over Hamadeh, making it the closest statewide race in Arizona history. Hamadeh believes up to 76,339 “undervotes” statewide were not counted in the election.

Hamadeh said in a statement provided to The Arizona Sun Times, “I stand by my commitment to keep fighting for the people of Arizona and protect their sacred right to vote. As a veteran, I took an oath to serve our country overseas, and I will continue to serve Arizona and our country. The evidence cannot be ignored — there are thousands of uncounted ballots. Although we have faced unusual roadblocks at the trial court, we are confident we will have our day in court to present the evidence and ensure that the will of the people is honored.”

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Kari Lake Requests Transfer of Her Appeal Directly to the Arizona Supreme Court Due to ‘Extraordinary New Evidence’

Kari Lake

Kari Lake filed a Notice of Appeal in May with the Arizona Court of Appeals after a trial court judge ruled against her election challenge in a remanded trial. However, due to new circumstances, she is now asking the Arizona Supreme Court to bypass the appeals court and take the case instead. 

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Kari Lake Files Appeal to Arizona Supreme Court, Alleging over 8,000 Ballots Were Misconfigured

Kari Lake

Former Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake filed an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court in her election case that alleges at least 8,000 unreadable ballots were misconfigured.

The appeal, which was filed on Friday, can be read here.

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Voting Machine Printer Company says Maricopa Election Day Report ‘Inaccurate,’ Seeks Correction

A printer company says a report by Arizona’s Maricopa County on errors at voting centers on Election Day 2022 is “factually inaccurate” and is seeking a correction from the county attorney’s office.

Ballot printer issues at more than 70 vote centers in the county on Election Day last year resulted in long lines because tabulator machines could not read some of the voters’ ballots.

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Arizona’s Pre-Roe Abortion Law Receives National Support from 17 States

A coalition of 17 states, led by Arkansas, is among the entities which recently asked the Arizona Supreme Court to reverse a ruling barring Arizona’s territorial-era law restricting abortions from being enforced.

The current abortion struggle in the state surrounds Arizona Revised Statute (ARS) § 13-3603, the pre-roe law which states that no person is allowed to provide a pregnant woman with an abortion unless it is necessary to save the mother’s life and ARS § 36-2322, which was enacted in 2022 and prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The Arizona Court of Appeals previously ruled that the 15-week ban takes priority over the previous law to avoid any confusion for medical professionals. Therefore, abortion is currently legal in Arizona for a brief window of pregnancy.

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Center for Arizona Policy Calls for State Supreme Court to Reinstate Arizona’s Pre-Roe Abortion Limitations

The Arizona Center for Policy (CAP) shared Wednesday that it has entered the legal battle surrounding Arizona’s territorial-era limitations on abortions with an amicus brief to the state Supreme Court.

“State lawmakers kept the state’s pre-Roe law on the books as they passed dozens of laws protecting life while Roe forbade them from going further,” said CAP President Cathi Herrod. “Allowing the lower court ruling to stand threatens thousands of lives a year, as well as the integrity of the judiciary, and the Legislature’s power to govern.”

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Ballot Signature Matching System in Maricopa County Is ‘Almost Illegal,’ Says Longtime FBI Expert

As Kari Lake’s lawsuit returns to the trial court for consideration of alleged violations of Maricopa County’s signature verification rules in the Arizona 2022 general election, a retired FBI counterintelligence agent with longtime expertise in signature analysis says that matching ballot signatures with little time to review is “almost illegal.”

If election workers have a limited amount of time to review signatures on early ballots to ensure they match with voters’ files, it’s “almost illegal to have it work that way,” said retired FBI Special Agent Wayne A. Barnes, adding, “almost pathetic.”

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Arizona Supreme Court Declines to Sanction Kari Lake’s Attorneys, Issues Fine

The Arizona Supreme Court declined to award significant sanctions against Kari Lake’s attorneys for contesting the election results of the gubernatorial race. Instead, on Thursday the court ordered $2,000 in sanctions against her attorneys for asserting it was an “undisputed fact” that 35,563 ballots were inserted into the ballot counting process at Runbeck Election Systems. The court declined to award attorneys fees to her opponents.

The Arizona Supreme Court said in its opinion that Lake “repeatedly” asserted in pleadings that 35,563 ballots were “added” or “injected” at Runbeck. “Not only is that allegation strongly disputed by the other parties, this Court concluded and expressly stated that the assertion was unsupported by the record, and nothing in Lake’s Motion for Leave to file a motion for reconsideration provides reason to revisit that issue.”

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Arizona Supreme Court Reinstates Death Penalty for Murderer Beau Greene

The Arizona Supreme Court released an opinion Friday reinstating the death penalty for Beau Greene, who murdered University of Arizona (UOA) music professor Roy Johnson in 1995.

“The conduct Greene engaged in, aside from his motive to murder, remains subject to a sentence of death and his actions in murdering Johnson continue to fall within that narrow category of the most serious crimes. Therefore, the retributive purpose served by his sentence in 1996 is still reflected in and served by Arizona law today,” wrote Justus William Montgomery in the opinion.

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Maricopa County Report Identifies Glaring Election Errors as Lake, Finchem Challenges Continue

While Maricopa County released a report on the election failures of the 2022 elections, Arizona election lawsuits continue as 2022 GOP nominees Kari Lake and Mark Finchem file motions for reconsideration in their respective races for governor and secretary of state. On Monday, Maricopa County released a report by former Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor on the causes of the ballot printer issues that occurred at more than 70 vote centers on Election Day last year, which resulted in long lines as many voters’ ballots were unreadable by tabulator machines.

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Signature Verification Software Used by Maricopa County Says 10 Percent is ‘High-Confidence’ Match

With Kari Lake’s legal complaint alleging systematic signature verification failures in Maricopa County remanded by the Arizona Supreme Court to trial court, closer examination of the signature verification software used by the county reveals a strikingly low threshold for signatures to qualify as “high-confidence” matches.

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Kari Lake Responds to Arizona Supreme Court’s Decision Remanding Part and Rejecting Part of Her Appeal

After deliberating on whether to accept Kari Lake’s appeal of the dismissal of her election challenge in Arizona’s gubernatorial race, the Arizona Supreme Court issued an order on Wednesday that remanded the part of the case regarding Maricopa County’s signature verification process back to the trial court judge, and dismissed the other parts.

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Kari Lake Scores Win as Arizona Supreme Court Sends Part of Her Lawsuit Back to Trial Court

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Wednesday to send a piece of former GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake’s election lawsuit back to trial court to examine whether or not Maricopa County followed signature verification policies in 2022.

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Kari Lake Submits Final Brief to Arizona Supreme Court Requesting Review

The Arizona Supreme Court is holding a private conference on Tuesday to discuss whether to accept Kari Lake’s appeal of lower courts dismissing her lawsuit contesting her loss of the gubernatorial race. In addition to her initial petition for review, Lake filed a reply to the defendants’ responses to her petition, and The Gavel Project’s Ryan Heath filed his own amicus curiae brief supporting her.

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Arizona Legislative Leaders Join in Legal Battle over Capital Punishment for Aaron Gunches

Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) announced they are fighting back against Gov. Katie Hobbs’s (D) opposition to executing death row inmate Aaron Gunches.

“Governor Hobbs’ unilateral decision to defy a court order is lawless and should not be tolerated by the Judiciary,” said Toma in a statement emailed to the Arizona Sun Times. “We filed this amicus brief because the Governor is not above the law and simply cannot choose which statutes or court orders to follow. Moreover, I’m proud to stand with the victims in this case. Governor Hobbs’ actions have been a flagrant insult to the Price family, denying them of their legal rights as crime victims, and of the justice they are very much due.”

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Goldwater Institute Reacts to Arizona Supreme Court Decision That Respects Due Process

The Arizona Supreme Court released an opinion in the Legacy Foundation (Legacy) v. Clean Elections Commission (CEC) Thursday, which the Goldwater Institute (GI) celebrated as a victory for checks and balances.

“State bureaucrats cannot simply decide the reach of their own authority,” said GI Vice President of Legal Affairs Timothy Sandefur. “When bureaucrats—who are often not answerable to voters at all—have the power to make the rules, investigate infractions, and punish people for violating those rules, that authority can undermine our most important constitutional values and threaten individual rights.”

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Kari Lake Files Petition for Review of Her Election Challenge Dismissal with Arizona Supreme Court

Kari Lake filed her Petition for Review of a Special Action Decision of the Court of Appeals on Wednesday with the Arizona Supreme Court. The petition contended that the Arizona Court of Appeals panel ignored Arizona election laws, including previous court precedent, to dismiss her appeal. Lake’s petition stated, “The Opinion directly contradicts this Court’s admonition that “election statutes are mandatory, not ‘advisory,’ or else they would not be law at all,” citing the Arizona Supreme Court’s 1994 decision in Miller v. Picacho Elementary School District No. 33. 

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Arizona Court of Appeals Sides with Katie Hobbs in Election Challenge

The Arizona Court of Appeals officially sided with Go. Katie Hobbs (D) in the ongoing election challenge filed by Republican Kari Lake. However, Lake has already said this is not the end and that the Arizona Supreme Court is her next destination.

“BREAKING: I told you we would take this case all the way to the Arizona Supreme Court, and that’s exactly what we are going to do. Buckle up, America,” Lake tweeted.

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Arizona Court of Appeals to Expedites Kari Lake’s Election Challenge Appeal

The Arizona Court of Appeals has set a date of February 1st for conferencing on Kari Lake’s lawsuit attempting to overturn the results of the 2022 General election.

“Our appeal is scheduled to be heard before the court on February 1st. Do not underestimate @KariLake’s desire to get justice for the people of Arizona. It doesn’t matter how long it takes. She will see this through,” tweeted the Lake campaign.

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Arizona Supreme Court Denies Kari Lake Request, Case Heads for Court of Appeals

Arizona Supreme Court (ASC) Justice John R. Lopez released an opinion Wednesday evening denying Republican Kari Lake’s request to transfer her election challenge case directly to the ASC. Despite the denial, Lake remains undeterred in her legal battle.

“My court case will be going before the Appeals Court prior to the Arizona Supreme Court because it’s already been scheduled for review. This decision was done without prejudice & I am confident the case will end up in their hands eventually. We’re moving forward,” Lake tweeted.

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Arizona Supreme Court May Accept Kari Lake’s Appeal, Bypassing Appeals Court

After Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson dismissed Kari Lake’s lawsuit challenging her loss in the anomaly-plagued Maricopa County midterm election, Lake filed a notice of appeal. She also requested that the Arizona Supreme Court immediately take her case, bypassing the Arizona Court of Appeals for several reasons.

“We’re going to appeal this,” Lake told Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast Tuesday. “We think we have absolute merit with this lawsuit, and we’re going to appeal it and take it even higher.”

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Arizona Faced a Similar Contentious Gubernatorial Race in 1916 That Dragged Out with Accusations of Voter Fraud

As the protests and litigation continue in Arizona, challenging the results of the 2022 midterm election where four Trump-endorsed candidates lost, some are looking at history to understand how the litigation may end. In 1916, a contentious gubernatorial race in Arizona, also fraught with accusations of voter fraud, resulted in a clear winner not being established until the next year, when the Arizona Supreme Court declared the Democrat, the winner.

Arizona historian and writer Donna Reiner relayed the story of that election for Arizona Agenda this fall, revealing how due to the feuding over who won, there were two governors both claiming to hold office for several months. It was Arizona’s third statewide election, after becoming a state in 1912, and incumbent Gov. George Wiley Paul Hunt, a Democrat and Arizona’s first governor, faced Republican challenger Thomas E. Campbell of Yavapai County.

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Group Sounds Alarm on Arizona Voting Machine Readers Lacking Accreditation

For the last year and a half, three Arizona activists have been investigating the lack of accreditation of voting machine readers used in Arizona. Concerned that the machines are susceptible to fraud — not just fully electronic voting machines but also electronic voting machine readers that are used with paper ballots here in Arizona — the trio has made several unsuccessful attempts legally to halt their use in the elections this year, as well as calling upon elected officials in the state, executive, and legislative branches for assistance.

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Arizona Senate President Applauds Court Decision Protecting Legislative Privilege

The Arizona Senate President, Karen Fann (R-Prescott), applauded a decision from the Arizona Supreme Court (ASC) protecting the Senate’s legislative privilege concerning discharging documents from the 2020 Maricopa County Election Audit.

“The Senate’s position on legislative privilege was supported by decades of precedent from federal and state courts. The lower courts’ attempt to disregard those precedents in the interest of short-term political concerns was wrong from the beginning. This is a huge victory for the protection of the legislative process,” Fann said.

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Arizona Free Enterprise Club Endorses Proposition 132 So Arizonans Can ‘Protect Their Wallets’

The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) shared its full support for prop 132, which is set to appear on the November ballot and would require a 60 percent majority vote of the people on any ballot measure that seeks to raise taxes.

“Today’s tax increase may not affect you, but tomorrow’s most certainly will. Allowing 51% of the population (who probably don’t have to pay the tax increase) to vote to tax the other 49% that do have to pay it, is wrong. And eventually, you will be in the minority,” said AFEC President Scot Mussi.

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State Supreme Court Reaffirms Arizona’s Nation-Lowest Flat Income Tax

Arizona’s high court has pulled a ballot question from the November election that could have erased the state’s largest-ever income tax cut.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a veto initiative to repeal a gradual change from Arizona’s progressive income tax to a flat 2.5% wasn’t appropriate for the ballot process. The court didn’t immediately offer an analysis of the opinion.

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Arizona Supreme Court Resurrects Omni Resort, Arizona State University Land Court Battle

Arizona State University sign

Both sides are declaring victory after the Arizona Supreme Court released a mixed opinion that ultimately allows Attorney General Mark Brnovich to go after a deal between hotelier Omni Hotels and the Board of Regents.

The state’s high court overturned two of four charges denied in an appellate ruling in State et al. v. Arizona Board of Regents et al.

Brnovich filed the lawsuit against the governing body of the state’s three public universities in January 2019 over a 60-year lease it struck with the hotel chain to build a new location on public land near Arizona State University’s Tempe campus. The deal entails benefits for the university at the hotel and allows the company to purchase the land at the end of the lease. In the meantime, the hotel would pay no property taxes.

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Arizona Judge Strikes Down Prop 208 Tax Hike

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has struck down a tax placed on high-earning Arizona residents to fund public education.

Proposition 208, which was approved by 51.7% of voters in the November 2020 election, added a 3.5% tax on single filers earning more than $250,000 per year and joint filers earning more than $500,000 per year, with the revenue going towards public education.

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Arizona Supreme Court Explains Voids of State Vaccination, Mask Ban Laws

exterior of Arizona's Supreme Court building

Arizona’s high court has elaborated on their decision to void additions to the most-recent state budget, saying lawmakers ran afoul of provisions in the state constitution meant to simplify legislation.

Justices released their unanimous opinion Thursday in Arizona School Boards Association et al. v. State of Arizona. The ruling, initially announced in September, affirmed a lower court ruling that said the Legislature went against two parts of the Arizona Constitution.

The opinion nullifies the state’s ban on mask mandates in schools, laws shoring up local election security and other laws justices concluded had little to do with the state budget.

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Arizona Supreme Court Rules Prisoners Must Be Offered Reunification Services to Remain Legal Parents

The Arizona State Supreme Court on Friday ruled that child-welfare officials must offer reunification services to certain inmates before terminating parental rights.

The ruling states that officers constitutionally must provide services, like visitation between parent and child, to inmates facing long prison sentences.

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Arizona Supreme Court to Hear Brnovich’s Lawsuit Against Arizona State University over Its Sweet Deal to Hotel Developers

The Arizona Supreme Court has agreed to accept an appeal from Arizona Attorney Mark Brnovich in his lawsuit against Arizona State University and the Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) challenging a deal they made with hotel developers letting them use school property, which allows them to avoid property taxes.

Brnovich said shortly after filing the lawsuit, “ABOR shouldn’t be subsidizing out-of-state billionaires. Worst of all, ABOR is depriving K-12 schools and community colleges millions of dollars in property tax revenue that must be made up by other taxpayers by placing the hotel on property tax exempt land.”

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Arizona Supreme Court Allows Release of State Senate’s Records of Contractors Conducting Election Audit

The Arizona Supreme Court has rejected an effort by the state’s GOP-led Senate to keep confidential records of its review of the 2020 election in Maricopa County now in possession of the contractors conducting the recount.

The court on Tuesday rejected the appeal filed after two lower courts ruled the documents are public records that must be released, according to the Associated Press.

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Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Prop. 208, Won’t Allow It to Break Education Spending Limit

Arizona’s high court didn’t strike down a voter-approved tax increase on the wealthy, but it’s not going to let the influx of new revenue break a constitutional cap on education spending, either.

The Arizona Supreme Court remanded Fann vs. Invest in Education back to a trial court Thursday morning, saying it’s too early to say whether the ballot initiative is entirely unconstitutional.

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Governor Ducey Appoints Kathryn Hackett King to Arizona Supreme Court

Governor Doug Ducey announced on Thursday that he will appoint Kathryn Hackett King, a member of the Board of Regents, to the state’s Supreme Court.

“Kate’s strong belief in the separation of powers and experience serving in all three branches of government will serve the people of Arizona well,” Ducey described in a statement.

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Court Issues Mixed Opinion on Former State Rep Shooter’s Defamation Suit: Mesnard Immunity Does Not Cover the Press Release

Don Shooter

The Arizona Supreme Court issued an opinion Wednesday dismissing part of a defamation lawsuit by expelled Arizona legislator Don Shooter against Sen. J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler) on Wednesday, while allowing the remaining part of the case to proceed.

Sen. Michelle Ugenti-Rita (R-Scottsdale) complained in 2017 when she was in the state House that Shooter, a Republican from Litchfield Park, sexually harassed her, resulting in the legislature removing him in 2018. He sued then-House speaker Mesnard, who introduced a bill to remove Shooter, over a press release and 82-page investigative report Mesnard issued about the expulsion. Shooter accused him of defamation and materially altering the investigative report.

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