AZ SupCo rejects Kari Lake’s bid to speed up appeal of 2nd trial loss
Jerod MacDonald-Evoy
(Arizona Mirror) Failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake had her request to appeal her election lawsuit directly to the Arizona Supreme Court denied Wednesday.
The former television anchor had previously requested that the state’s highest court take up her case, after she had lost her second trial in Maricopa County Superior Court in May. In that case, she called for either a new election or to be named governor.
Lake also requested that sanctions be brought against Maricopa County.
The appeal was initially filed with the Court of Appeals, but Lake later asked the Supreme Court to take up her case without the appellate court considering the matter.
“Appellant Lake does not show good cause for transferring the appeal from the court of appeals, where the matter has been fully briefed,” Justice Bill Montgomery wrote in the ruling.
Lake has consistently claimed that she lost her election bid in November 2022 due to fraud and malfeasance by Maricopa County, though her claims have been rejected because she has no evidence. In her petition to the Supreme Court, Lake claimed to have new evidence and asked the court for a reversal of the trial court’s decision or for a new election.
Plaintiffs typically are not allowed to present new evidence during the appeals process, as appeals are focused on whether a lower court failed to correctly apply the law. Lake has frequently made pronouncements on social media about alleged new evidence of corruption, but trial, appeals and the Supreme Court have all found her evidence unconvincing.
There is no evidence of widespread fraud or tampering in the 2020 or 2022 election. Independent investigations, as well as an investigation by the Arizona Supreme Court, found no evidence of tampering of voting tabulators or printers.
The State Bar of Arizona is currently investigating Lake’s attorneys related to their conduct during the election challenge lawsuits. No other information is currently publicly available about the investigations which could lead to Lake’s attorneys being disbarred.
Lake is currently running for U.S. Senate with the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Lake has still not conceded to her loss in the 2022 election and has falsely claimed to be the state’s “lawful Governor.”
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, which represented the county in the case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.