An appeals court for former Republican candidate Gov. Kari Lake in an unsuccessful election was moved from a Phoenix court to a Tucson court as part of a relatively new effort to balance the number of cases between the state’s two appeals divisions. It was decided that
Lake, a former TV news anchor and Trump ally, continues to challenge his November loss to Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs by 17,117 votes. In two trials and an appeal to the Arizona Supreme Court, Lake did not prove he had won the race, and both courts recognized Hobbes’ victory.
Discuss future developments in Lake’s lawsuit and why the lawsuit is proceeding in Pima County instead of Maricopa County.
2022 Law Allows Courts to Determine “Optimal Use of Judicial Resources”
In June 2022, Republican Governor Doug Ducey signed the law into law. House Bill 2859, added three judges to each of the state’s two courts of appeal. Tucson has his one court of nine judges, handling cases in seven southern Arizona counties. The 19-judge court is located in Phoenix and handles cases in eight northern Arizona counties, including Maricopa County, the most populous county.
As a swan song to an eight-year gubernatorial office, Mr. Ducey appointed judges who could serve for decades to the newly created office of judges.
But the bill that allowed him to do so included allowing court officials to move cases between the two courts to “even out the number of cases and maximize judicial resources.” Many other provisions were also included.
how the courts enforced the law
An initial agreement between the courts, dated January, indicated that only certain types of cases would be transferred from Phoenix to Tucson, at least initially, but there have been more transfers in recent years. About a quarter of the cases handled by Phoenix were handled. These include civil matters such as the Lake case.
Under the agreement, using calculations based on the number of cases to date and considering new judges, Phoenix courts will hear two-thirds of all cases filed, and Tucson courts will hear one-third. It is said that it is necessary to
As a result, the court clerk transferred every seven civil appeals filed in Phoenix to Tucson. Lake’s was lucky number seven.
Phoenix Court of Appeals Clerk Amy Wood said 80 cases have been transferred to Tucson so far this year, and the court is formally known as the First Division. Tucson is in Division 2. The first to report on the case-sharing agreement and its effect on Lake’s case was Arizona lawa legal blog documenting the Lake issue and other high-profile issues in Grand Canyon State.
What Lake is suing in the election lawsuit
The former first-time candidate dismissed his claim that Maricopa County election officials did not follow state law when verifying that the voter’s signature on the ballot return envelope matched the voter’s record in May. asking the Court of Appeal to reconsider the judgment of Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson found that “a comparison of voter records and signatures was made in every instance plaintiffs sought evaluation from the court.”
She filed a Notice of Appeal, the first stage of her appeal, on May 31. The appeal is progressing well as Mr. Lake envisions her running for the Arizona Senate next year and frequently jabs Rep. Ruben Gallego, the Democratic nominee for Phoenix. Media, liberal causes, and her dissatisfaction with her candidate are mixed.
What Lake Says About Transferring Cases
Lake’s gubernatorial campaign has often dealt with misinformation related to the 2020 election and other issues, and has featured false claims that Donald Trump won a second term. rice field. Regarding the transfer of the case, Lake claimed on social media that the case had been transferred to “the most Marxist part of the state.”
“We understand what’s going on here,” Lake wrote, directing readers to her fundraising site. Her lawyer Kurt Olsen and two of her publicists did not respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday.
Who are the Tucson Court of Appeal judges?
Of the nine judges in the Tucson court, seven were appointed by Ducey, and two were appointed by Arizona’s last Democratic governor, Janet Napolitano, nearly two decades ago.
The three judges assigned to Lake’s case are Chief Justice Sean Blaircliffe, Justices Peter Eckerstrom and Michael Kelly. The two are Ducey’s appointees, with Blaircliffe appointed in 2017 and Kelly appointed to the court last year. Eckerstrom was named by Napolitano and has been on the court since 2003.
How Mr. Lake’s election lawsuit got here
Lake first filed an election challenge in December and has been back and forth between courts since. Her lawyers argued at trial last year that election officials’ misconduct influenced the results, but the Maricopa County judge said the lawyers clearly showed the election was rigged against her. It was determined that no persuasive evidence had been submitted.
Ms. Lake appealed, but her attorney continued to make false claims in court and was ultimately fined $2,000 by the Arizona Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court also disagreed with the legal justification used to dismiss one of Mr. Lake’s claims, and the matter was reopened, leading to a second trial in May.
At the trial, Mr. Lake’s attorneys argued that Maricopa County officials verified voters’ signatures on ballot return envelopes too quickly to meet the standards set by law. The Maricopa County judge again disagreed and affirmed Hobbes’ victory, saying the law did not set a time limit for signature review.
Please contact reporter Stacy Berchanger. stacey.barchenger@arizonarepublic.com or 480-416-5669.
