Judge Issues Writ Of Mandamus To Cochise County Supervisors – They Have Until 5:00 p.m. To Certify The Canvass Of The Vote (Update: Vote Certified!)

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A very brief summation of the Court hearing:

No notice of appearance by counsel was filed, so the individual county supervisors appeared representing themselves individually. Judge McGinley finds it is appropriate to proceed without assistance of counsel given the nature of the case.

Supervisor Crosby moved for a delay of proceedings for 4-5 days to allow counsel they tried to hire, but who did not file an appearance, to get up to speed.

This motion was denied because it would have rendered the emergency proceeding moot. The state canvass of the election has to be completed by Monday, and that would mean Cochise County’s votes would not be included in the state canvass.

The Court finds that the Board exceeded its lawful authority by delaying certification of the canvass of the vote for reasons not provided for by state statute.

A writ of mandamus is warranted in both cases. Judge McGinley orders the Board to meet today by 3:30 p.m. and to certify the canvass of the vote today by 5:00 p.m.

https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1598424201542639645?cxt=HHwWuoCx1fWV364sAAAA

Note: If the Board fails to comply, the Secretary of State’s attorney indicated  he would return to court to immediately seek contempt of court proceedings tomorrow against the offending supervisors.

If you are saying to yourself, “they couldn’t be that stupid, could they?,” you have not been paying attention. They have regularly been that stupid so far.

We are now on the clock.

UPDATE: What a clown show!

Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd need to be recalled for their unlawful conduct over the past month. This should not be tolerated. They have demonstrated for all the world to see that they are unfit to hold public office.




3 thoughts on “Judge Issues Writ Of Mandamus To Cochise County Supervisors – They Have Until 5:00 p.m. To Certify The Canvass Of The Vote (Update: Vote Certified!)”

  1. UPDATE: “Secretary of State’s Office confirms it has received Cochise County certification,” https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2022/12/01/cochise-county-may-go-to-court-without-lawyer-in-election-canvass-fight/69690656007/

    The Secretary of State’s Office confirmed Thursday evening that it had received the Cochise certification, which will allow it to proceed with the statewide canvass, scheduled for 10 a.m. Monday. The canvass is the official proclamation of the winners from the November election and sets in motion the work on three automatic recounts required by law.

    And then there is this from the lawless MAGA/QAnon Republican supervisors, who remain unrepentant for their criminality:

    Supervisor Tom Crosby did not attend the board meeting ordered by Pima County Superior Court Judge Casey McGinley … He later told The Republic he stayed away on the advice of the board’s newly hired attorney [Daniel McCauley, who failed to file a notice of appearance or to appear in court, and tried to remove the state case to a non-existent division of the federal court].

    [W]hile McAuley, the board’s emergency legal hire, was not in court, he did file a motion to move the case from state to federal court. That motion came after McGinley had concluded the hearing and called a 15-minute recess so he could ponder his decision.

    The motion was never addressed. And even if it had been, it would have presented an impossibility: It wanted the case moved to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arizona. There is no such court.

    [C]rosby, along with Supervisor Peggy Judd, had ignored repeated legal advice that their actions were illegal, forcing the board to seek outside counsel to represent them.

    “I don’t like to be threatened,” Judd said before casting her vote to certify. She said she was relieved to not be threatened with jail time, as had been intimated in a Mohave County supervisors’ meeting earlier this week. However, defying a court order risked contempt charges.

    Judd defended her actions, saying it was important to ensure elections are “fair and good,” and balked at making the motion to certify the results. Instead, she deferred to Ann English, the board’s chair and a Democrat who has opposed her colleagues’ moves.

    “I’m not done fighting. I couldn’t even make the motion,” Judd said.

    [A]ttorneys for the Arizona Alliance of Retired Americans said that point was underscored by comments Judd made to the New York Times earlier this week. Judd said the machine complaints were a pretext to mask their real concern, which was Election Day problems in Maricopa County.

    -Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd need to be recalled for their unrepentant criminality in office.

  2. It’s done. Judd and English voted to certify at the court-order meeting today at 3:30pm. Crosby was absent, whether out of shame or protest is unknown at this time.

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