Arizona GOP wins state high court appeal of sanctions for 2020 election challenge

The Arizona Supreme Court has reversed little tribunal rulings that held the Arizona Republican Party liable for much than $27,000 successful sanctions and lawyer fees resulting from a situation of the results of the 2020 election

PHOENIX -- The Arizona Supreme Court has reversed little tribunal rulings that held the Arizona Republican Party liable for much than $27,000 successful sanctions and Secretary of State bureau lawyer fees spent defending Maricopa County election procedures pursuing the 2020 election.

“Even if done inadvertently and with the champion of intentions, specified sanctions contiguous a existent and contiguous information to the regularisation of law,” Justice John Lopez wrote successful the unanimous determination issued Thursday.

The Arizona Republican Party hailed the ruling, saying successful a connection it “reaffirms the cardinal ineligible rule that raising questions astir the mentation and exertion of predetermination laws is simply a morganatic usage of the judicial system, not a groundless oregon atrocious religion action.”

The lawsuit stemmed from a authorities GOP suit alleging that Maricopa County improperly conducted a required hand-count of the accuracy of ballots from samples of votes formed astatine centers unfastened to each region voters, not from precincts.

The region introspection of immoderate ballots showed its instrumentality counts were 100% accurate, and the results of regular post-election tests besides affirmed the accuracy of counting machines.

A Maricopa County justice dismissed the lawsuit successful March 2021, declaring the Republican Party suit groundless and saying it was brought successful atrocious faith. He awarded implicit $18,000 successful attorney’s fees to the Secretary of State’s office.

A authorities Court of Appeals sheet upheld that determination successful April 2023 and assessed different $9,000 successful sanctions against the GOP.

The precocious tribunal did not overturn dismissal of the case. But it recovered the little courts erred successful uncovering the lawsuit was groundless.

“Petitioning our courts to clarify the meaning and exertion of our laws ... peculiarly successful the discourse of our elections,” the Supreme Court said, “is ne'er a menace to the regularisation of law, adjacent if the claims are charitably characterized arsenic ‘long shots.’ ”