A defamation lawsuit has been filed against embattled Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel and the County, by a prosecutor alleging that she was scapegoated by Adel for controversial charges against 2020 protesters.
Prosecutor April Sponsel was put on leave nearly a year ago, and she says it was because "the media heat" prompted Adel to kick her "campaign of political self-interest... into gear." Adel made a series of statements to ABC15's Dave Biscobing and the rest of the media which painted Sponsel as the sole decision maker charging protesters as gang members. Sponsel documents in the lawsuit that the decisions were made by her and superiors and that Adel was aware of the case and initially had no concerns about it.
A key part of the lawsuit:
160. From that point forward, as the media heat turned up and Adel’s campaign of political self-interest kicked into gear, things got worse, a lot worse, for Sponsel.
161. Just three days later, on February 15, 2021, in an article titled “Politically Charged: ABC 15 Investigates Protest Prosecutions,” Adel began defending herself at Sponsel’s expense, rather than telling the truth about what had occurred before the Violent Protest Case Charges had been filed.
162. Adel intentionally and with purpose lied about what had occurred, making the following “prepared statements” to publically and falsely blame Sponsel as a lone rogue prosecutor who was solely responsible for filing the charges without her (Adel’s) knowledge or approval in violation of MCAO policies and procedures:
The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office is admitting prosecutors failed to properly vet a controversial case that resulted in a group of protestors being charged as a criminal street gang. …
Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel said prosecutors did not follow procedures before bringing the charges and the case was not properly vetted.
As County Prosecutor, it is my expectation that complex and/or cases of public interest are reviewed by my leadership team at the county attorney’s office prior to charging. This practice includes a review of the facts and evidence by seasoned prosecutors and a robust discussion about the case in its entirety. It concludes with a determination if charges are appropriate and what those charges should be, so I can make a final charging decision ….
In this case, this practice was not followed and at my direction, a review took place this past Friday, February 12. I participated in the review and ultimately decided to dismiss the charges in CR2020-139581. [Emphasis added.] (Copy of this widely reported article is attached as Exhibit 3 to this Complaint).
163. None of that was true, and, based on the facts, Adel made these prepared statements to the news media with actual malice, meaning that she knew what she said was false or acted in reckless disregard for the truth.
Sponsel is still on leave nearly a year later.
The defamation lawsuit filed (properly) does not request a certain amount of damages. However, the Notice of Claim filed last year demanded $10M.
Sponsel is represented by Tom Moring and David Farren at Jaburg Wilk. Moring tells Arizona's Law that they "have not had any productive dialogue with the County (since the Notice of Claim). I am hopeful that will change now, and it seems like some of the recent stories put the events of our claim in a different light."
The Arizona Republic last week and today published investigations about how many people - including some of her biggest supporters - believe Adel has not been handling her responsibilities as Maricopa County Attorney, and how she has been struggling to maintain sobriety.
A recusal will likely be coming today or this week, as the case was randomly assigned to Judge Pamela Gates. Gates is married to the Chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, and Bill Gates spoke to the Arizona Republic about his concerns about Adel's personal well-being and performance (and his conversation with Adel).
Arizona's Law has reached out to the Maricopa County Attorney's Office for comment, and will update as necessary.
This article was reported by AZ Law founder Paul Weich. Paul is currently running for a seat in Arizona's House of Representatives.
"AZ Law" includes articles, commentaries and updates about opinions from the Arizona Supreme Court, U.S. Supreme Court, as well as trial and appellate courts, etc. AZ Law is founded by Phoenix attorney Paul Weich, and joins Arizona's Politics on the internet.
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