Reuters – Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz said on Friday that he was seeking to evade sanctions over a lawsuit against unsuccessful Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake seeking to ban electronic voting machines in the 2022 midterm elections. lost the bid.

But U.S. District Judge John Tucci of Phoenix said: hold Dershowitz will join the rest of the Lake area and former Arizona Congressman Mark Finchem’s legal team, which consists of Andrew Parker of Parker Daniels Kivote and Kurt B. Olsen of Olsen Law Firm. It said it was only responsible for 10% of the $122,200 fine it imposed.

Mr Tutsi said Mr Dershowitz’s role in the case was limited and “his public participation appears to have been largely orchestrated by others”.

Dershowitz is still signing a number of filings in the lawsuit, which Tutsi said is subject to sanctions.

“If we fail to impose meaningful sanctions here, if the authentication is found to be empty or incomplete, we can lend the credibility of the documents filed with the court, without facing any real consequences, to allow others to will very likely encourage others to follow suit,” Tutsi said in his ruling. “Thus, the need for total deterrence is critical.”

Mr. Dershowitz and his attorney did not respond to requests for comment. Parker said he plans to appeal Tucci’s ruling. Parker and Olsen argued that the sanctions were baseless.

Former TV news anchor Lake and former Arizona legislator Finchem called for changes to state and county voting procedures in April 2022, calling for former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and Maricopa and Pima County officials. sued.

Mr. Dershowitz signed the complaint, as did Mr. Parker and Mr. Olsen. But he claimed he believed the complaint showed he was advising Lake, Finchem and their teams in limited capacity. Dershowitz said he was only paid for three to four hours of work on the constitutional issues of the lawsuit.

Mr. Tutsi dismissed Mr. Lake’s lawsuit in August. Maricopa County officials named as defendants have called for sanctions against Lake for trying to sow suspicion in the upcoming 2022 election.

Republican Lake lost the gubernatorial race to Democrat Hobbes, but has never conceded. Finchem lost the election for Secretary of State to Adrian Fontes.

The case is Kari Lake et al. v. Adrian Fontes et al., United States District Court, Arizona, 2:22-cv-00677.

For Kari Lake and Mark Finchem: Andrew Parker of Parker Daniels Kivote, Kurt B. Olsen of Olsen LLP and Alan Dershowitz

To the Maricopa County Oversight Board: Emily Craiger of Burgess Law Group, Thomas Liddy, Joseph Branco, Joseph La Rue, and Karen Hartman-Tellez of the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office

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