Kari Lake’s attorney, Bryan Blehm, is encountering pushback defending himself against the State Bar of Arizona’s disciplinary proceedings.
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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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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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The State Bar of Arizona’s disciplinary judge Margaret Downie, along with a hearing panel of two others, suspended the law license of longtime Maricopa County prosecutor April Sponsel on December 19 mainly for prosecuting multiple people at an Antifa riot that took place in downtown Phoenix on October 17, 2020 after the death of George Floyd. The 71-page Decision and Order Imposing Sanctions also faulted her decision to charge a thief accused of assaulting police officers. The Arizona bar has come under increasing criticism in recent years for targeting conservative attorneys.
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Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre, a Republican, was arrested for a Super Extreme DUI last January and pleaded guilty to Extreme DUI but has received no discipline from the State Bar of Arizona. He blew a .20 percent when arrested, more than two times the legal limit of .08 percent BAC. On Thursday, a concerned Arizona resident filed a bar complaint against him, just three days after State Representative Alexander Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Pima County Supervisor Ally Miller filed an election-related bar complaint against him.
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The State Bar of Arizona has been aggressively pursuing disciplinary charges against attorneys who challenged alleged election irregularities and illegalities in 2020 and 2022.
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The State Bar of Arizona announced that it found probable cause to pursue disciplinary charges against three attorneys representing Kari Lake in her election-related cases.
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Considerable scrutiny has been placed on the State Bar of Arizona recently following its decision to pursue investigations and disciplinary actions against attorneys representing clients and causes associated with the Republican Party – particularly election attorneys.
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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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The disbarment trial of former President Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, finished its 32nd day on Thursday. California Bar Disciplinary Judge Yvette Roland could not get the former law clerk for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to express remorse for his actions, and she pronounced him “culpable.”
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The disciplinary court of the State Bar of Arizona wrapped up a trial a few days ago against April Sponsel, a former longtime prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO), related to gang charges she brought against Antifa and others arrested in October 2020 for rioting in downtown Phoenix. Bar prosecutors claimed she overcharged the rioters by using gang statutes, including bringing charges against a man who claimed he was just an observer taking photos, Ryder Collins. The Arizona bar seeks to suspend her license to practice law for two years.
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Kari Lake filed a bar complaint against Katie Hobbs’ attorney, Alexis Danneman of Perkins Coie, on Monday over “false statements” Danneman may have made regarding Lake’s announcement that she was running for U.S. Senate. Danneman, who is representing Hobbs in Lake’s lawsuit challenging Hobbs’ gubernatorial win over Lake, sent Lake’s attorneys an email last week stating that she had violated the state’s resign to run laws and must drop her election challenge.
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The disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, continued on Thursday during its eighth week, featuring testimony from statistician Dr. Stanley Young and two character witnesses.
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Arizona State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tuscon) is preparing for the next legislative session by outlining her priorities and beginning to craft legislation for introduction in the State Senate.
Arizona’s regular legislative sessions begin on the second Monday in January and typically conclude after 100 days. However, the House and Senate can mutually vote to extend the regular session beyond 100 days. This happens regularly. It will run as long as lawmakers need it to.
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A bar complaint was filed against Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes last week. Chandler resident Charlie Schinke accused Mayes of violating her ethical duties to two state clients by threatening one with a potential criminal investigation and publicly admonishing another client in a press release.
Schinke asked the State Bar of Arizona to investigate whether Mayes violated Arizona Rules of Professional Conduct 1.6 and 1.7. He said, “In just the last month, Ms. Mayes appeared on television to threaten one of her clients with an investigation that could carry potential criminal dimensions, and publicly admonished another client in letters that she distributed in a press release.” He added, “The Attorney General’s self-appointed status as the investigator of her own clients not only is inconsistent with her statutory responsibilities but compromises the ethical obligations that bind all members of the Arizona Bar.” Schinke explained, “Attorney General Mayes’ public criticisms of, and threats to investigate, her own clients are inconsistent with her duties of confidentiality and loyalty.”
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The Arizona Legislature is considering two bills to dismantle the State Bar of Arizona.
Senate Bill (SB) 1435, sponsored by State Representative Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) and passed the Senate 16-13 on February 27, would make the Bar voluntary and move the licensing and regulation of attorneys back under the Arizona Supreme Court. Currently, lawyers cannot practice law in Arizona unless they are a member of the Bar. While Arizona is a right-to-work state, lawsuits attempting to stop it from acting like a mandatory union have failed due to judges ruling against them. More than half of the states have mandatory bars; the rest are voluntary.
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