Saturday, January 28, 2023

FOR THE RECORD: Kari Lake Election Contest Appeal

UPDATE, 1/31, 4:45pm: As expected, the Court of Appeals confirms to Arizona's Law that it has been receiving inquiries from people interested in *trying* to attend the judges' conference tomorrow. They will not be able to.

Arizona's Law has been in the forefront in trying to quell the confusion about the appeal, especially in light of misinformation given out by at least one person interviewing Kari Lake this past weekend - Lake did not correct him when he said he would be there on Wednesday.

Lake will NOT be inside the judges' conference. Nor will her attorneys or the attorneys for the defendants. The conference is an opportunity for the judges to privately discuss what the ruling will look like and which of the three judge panel will write it. 

And, the court will be at the front check-in area (politely) explaining all of this to anyone who understood otherwise.

It is very unlikely that the judges will ask for oral argument in this case, as no attorneys asked for it (as required by court rules) and the judges have not asked for it before the conference, either. The conference is generally the last item on the court's agenda before a ruling is made - that decision is expected within days or weeks in this case, although it could take longer.

Original article, 1/28, 7pm

There is a LOT of confusion about what is happening in Kari Lake's Election Contest appeal. One of her stated reasons for holding her Sunday rally is "to get everybody focused on what's happening in our case, because the fake news won't cover it fairly". She also mentioned she will be encouraging everyone to "start praying for the judges”.

We have been trying to address some of the incorrect information that has been spread about the appeal for the past month. We have been publishing the Briefs filed by all parties, and other filings - largely because the appellate courts do not (yet) publish them. We have been trying to explain the appellate rules, the multiple, confusing appeals filed by Lake's attorneys, the Orders from the courts trying to untangle them, and more.

(Please scroll down for links to our previous articles about the case.)

Here are a few of the important points to remember for the coming week:

FOR THE RECORD: 

1) There will NOT be Oral Argument (or more evidence presented) this week in the Lake Election Contest Appeal.

2) Briefing is complete (see our website).

3) Oral Argument was not requested by Lake's attys (or the Defts). It is unlikely the judges will request it.

4) The conference set for Feb. 1 is private. It is judges only. Not the parties, their attys, the public. It will not be livestreamed.

5) The court publishes the conference schedule "so that folks understand the case status."*

6) Because Lake's attys did not request this to be considered an expedited elections case, the Ct of Appeals Opinion could be days or weeks away.

7) If it is taking too long, the AZ Supreme Court did tell Lake she could again ask them to consider the appeal and skip the Ct of Appeals. (Given the 1st 2 refusals and that the Ct/App knows, this is unlikely.)

8) We have published all of the appellate briefs and filings so far. We will publish the Opinion when it is handed down:

Previous articles about this case:

1/25Arizona Supreme Court AGAIN Refuses To Accept @KariLake's direct appeal to them (READ Order) (Includes Supreme Court's Order denying transfer.)

1/25: Too Many Errors By Judge and Defendants - Lake Attorneys File Reply Brief and Motions In Election Contest, Still Having Trouble With Properly Expediting Appeal (READ Filings) (Includes Lake's Reply Brief, Motions)

1/12NEW: "Let Us Play, Too!" - Attorneys, Others Flood Arizona Courts With Kari Lake-Related Actions (READ filings)

12/31-1/18THE LATEST On the Kari Lake Election Contest Appeal  (This includes Lake's Petition for Special Action - which the court later designated as her Opening Brief in the original appeal. It includes the filings on Lake's 1st attempt to transfer the case to the AZ Supreme Court, and the Defendants' Answering Briefs.)

12/30Kari Lake's Election Contest APPEAL is now in front of the Court of Appeals (Includes court docket.)

12/24-12/27Kari Lake FAILED To Convince Judge To Reverse Governor’s Race, Election Contest DENIED (READ Ruling) (Includes Superior Court Judge's Ruling, Notice of Appeal)

"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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