Arizona Gov.-elect Katie Hobbs' request to sanction gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, after Lake's unsuccessful election-challenge lawsuit, was denied by an Arizona judge.
Hobbs, Arizona's current secretary of state, and Maricopa County officials on Tuesday asked to court to oblige Lake and her legal team into paying for all parties' attorneys' fees in the case, on the grounds of Lake allegedly filing a frivolous lawsuit in bad faith.
However, on this matter, the Arizona court sided with Lake.
The Maricopa County Superior Court on Saturday ruled that Lake's election lawsuit did not meet the burden of providing "clear and convincing evidence of her claims necessary to win the case." The same court also determined that Lake's actions didn't warrant the imposition of monetary sanctions.
"There is no doubt that each side believes firmly in its position with great conviction," wrote state Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson.
"The fact that Plaintiff failed to meet the burden of clear and convincing evidence required ... does not equate to a finding that her claims were, or were not, groundless and presented in bad faith. Any legal decision must be based on the law and facts rather than subjective beliefs or partisan opinions, no matter how strongly held."
As part of Thompson's ruling, Lake will be required to reimburse Hobbs $33,040.50 for costs incurred during the court proceedings, "in accordance with other state statutes applicable because Lake did not win the case."
The cost breakdown covers fees for expert witnesses called by Hobbs ($28,351) and compensation paid to the Hobbs representatives ($4,689.50) who "attended ballot inspections," before the launch of the Lake trial.
Lake's campaign has already vowed to appeal the judge's election lawsuit dismissal, while further alleging that Maricopa County officials — and the secretary of state office, by proxy — had engaged in misconduct on Election Day in Arizona (Nov. 8).
Lake's team on Monday reportedly tweeted and then deleted the following post: "@katiehobbs wants Marc Elias well compensated for helping her destroy free and fair elections in Arizona. This is an attack on our First Amendment & the rule of law. Who will speak out against it?"
Part of that tweet referenced Marc Elias, founding partner of Elias Law Group, a firm representing Hobbs as governor-elect.
The Lake legal team apparently made allegations of Elias improperly emailing Judge Thompson "what to say" in his dismissal ruling.
According to the Newsmax Election Tracker, Democrat Hobbs beat Republican Lake by slightly more than 17,000 votes in the governor's race.
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