2 Cochise County supervisors must pay thousands in legal fees for election certification drama

Two Cochise County supervisors who resisted certifying results in the November election are on the hook for $37,000 in legal and court fees.

It's the latest court ruling awarding sanctions against parties that rejected the results of the 2022 general election. In March, a court awarded attorney fees and costs against failed Republican secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem for filing what a judge called a "groundless" lawsuit contesting his loss. The amount Finchem will have to pay is not yet determined. Finchem is appealing the order.

And failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake may face sanctions for false claims made to the court in her ongoing challenge of that election result.

For Cochise County, it is unclear whether the $37,000 penalty announced Wednesday would fall on the two Republican supervisors individually, or on the county. In other legal actions, the county distanced itself from paying for Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd's legal fees since they acted against the advice of the county attorney.

Read: Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans case ruling

In his ruling, Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley awarded most of the attorney fees and costs sought by the Arizona Secretary of State's Office and the Arizona Alliance for Retired Americans. McGinley was appointed to the bench by former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey.

The secretary of state and retiree group sued to force the supervisors to follow their duty to certify election results. It took a court order from McGinley in December to make that happen, and even then, Crosby skipped the certification meeting.

That left Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Ann English, the board's sole Democrat, and Judd to cast the 2-0 certification vote, a decision that allowed the statewide canvass to proceed and make the November results official.

Crosby, in an email to The Arizona Republic on Thursday, objected to any implication that he defied McGinley's order to certify, arguing there was no such express order. Instead, he parsed the words "canvass" and "certify" and reasoned McGinley did not require him to certify.

Crosby is the subject of a recall campaign in the southeastern Arizona county. The signatures of 4,865 registered voters who live in Crosby's district are required to trigger a recall vote. Petitions are due May 3.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Cochise County supervisors must pay election certification court costs