By Mychael Schnell - 03/15/21 08:41 PM EDT
The Arizona Republican Party and its lawyers must pay more than $18,000 in legal fees to the Arizona secretary of state after a Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled on Friday that one of the party’s failed lawsuits challenging President Biden
Judge John Hannah concluded last week that the state GOP filed the baseless suit for political reasons while claiming it was meant to protect election integrity and failed to recognize it had sued the wrong government official, The Associated Press reported.
According to the AP, “The financial award was made under a law that requires judges to assess attorney fees against lawyers or legal parties who bring claims to court without substantial justification or to delay or harass.”
Arizona GOP Must Pay $18,000 in Failed Election Lawsuit, Judge Rules
A judge has ruled that the Arizona Republican Party and its lawyers must pay $18,000 in legal fees to the Arizona Secretary of State over a failed lawsuit it previously filed seeking a hand count audit of ballots in Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state, due to concerns over the “integrity” and “legitimacy” of the results of the November 2020 election.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John R. Hannah last week ruled (pdf) that the legal fees requested by Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who intervened in the case, were “reasonable and appropriate” because the lawsuit filed by the Arizona GOP was legally “groundless” and was filed in “bad faith.”
"The public has a right to expect the Arizona Republican Party to conduct itself respectfully. It has failed to do so in this case," Judge John Hannah said.
"The public has a right to expect the Arizona Republican Party to conduct itself respectfully. It has failed to do so in this case," Judge John Hannah said.
Judge rips Arizona GOP for groundless lawsuit challenging Biden s win, orders it to pay legal fees Maria Polletta, Arizona Republic
Calling its lawsuit challenging 2020 election procedures groundless and disingenuous, a judge has ordered the Arizona Republican Party – and its lawyers – to pay the state thousands of dollars in legal fees.
In his ruling, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah contended the GOP s team acted in bad faith when it questioned the process for auditing voting machines and sought to delay certification of election results last November.
Instead of living up to the privileged position in the electoral process afforded to it by state law, Hannah said, the party sought to undermine Arizonans confidence in election results.