Arizona Supreme Court Will Not Hold Arizona GOP Accountable for 2020 Post-Election Lawsuit
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a unanimous decision, the conservative Arizona Supreme Court reversed sanctions against the Arizona Republican Party for its 2020 lawsuit that a lower court called “meritless,” ending the last standing post-election case brought by Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
In its ruling today, the majority Republican-appointed court found that a case filed by the Arizona Republican Party (AZ GOP) in the aftermath of the 2020 election was not groundless.
Just days after the 2020 election, the Arizona Republican Party filed a lawsuit against Maricopa County, Arizona challenging the county’s post-election audit process and requesting that the court mandate a larger audit. This lawsuit was part of a larger web of over 60 lawsuits filed by Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 election to attempt to change the results. The state trial court dismissed the case in December 2020, finding it baseless. Two lower courts both subsequently sanctioned the AZ GOP for bringing the lawsuit. The state Republican Party appealed the challenge up to the Arizona Supreme Court, which reversed the lower court’s decision to sanction the group.
The party, which has been in a reportedly abysmal financial situation, argued it should not have to pay attorney fees for its lawsuit seeking to alter the outcome of 2020 election results. Today, the conservative majority agreed with the AZGOP after finding that the party’s lawsuit “was not groundless.”
The conservative majority raised concern with courts sanctioning parties for bringing questionable or “longshot” lawsuits writing that “courts risk chilling legal advocacy.”
Today’s opinion finally put an end to the last outstanding case brought by Trump and his allies in the aftermath of the 2020 election. This lawsuit, and the 64 other ones in various states across the country, sowed doubt in the electoral process. Today’s reversal by the Arizona Supreme Court fails to hold the party accountable for its role in creating distrust and unrest in the post-election period.