UPDATE: Finchem Attorney (1) Acknowledges Missed Deadline, (2) Mistakenly Adds Hobbs As Individual Defendant, (3) Tells Court He's Appealing *Everything* - Including the Kitchen Sink

If the judge had made an off-hand statement that the sky was blue, Mark Finchem would be appealing that, too. Finchem lost his Election Contest for his Secretary of State race against Adrian Fontes more than two months ago, but his zombie appeal is inching forward.

On Friday, Finchem's attorney, Dan McCauley, filed his Case Management Statement with the Court of Appeals. In it, he lists eight decisions made by Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian which he believes to be reversible error. 

In her December 16 Minute Entry dismissing Finchem's case, Judge Julien broke down her ruling into six sections; McCauley (mis-)lists those headings - and, two of the (four) sub-headings - as the "claims" he made in his original filing. (He only made two separate claims in the Petition - "Misconduct" and "Illegal Votes".) McCauley then tells the Court of Appeals he is appealing each of the judge's sections.

Thus, Finchem is appealing Judge Julian's finding that then-Secretary of State Hobbs' botched the election when she flagged Twitter posts by Finchem for alleged election misinformation. He is also appealing her alleged conflict of interest, that voting machines and software were not certified, there were "illegal votes", and more.

Finchem's Case Management Statement also lists three Defendants/Appellees. While it can be confusing, there are actually only two. 

Back when the Contest was filed, Katie Hobbs was still the Secretary of State, and she was correctly named *in her official capacity*. When Fontes assumed that office in the first week of January, he became a Defendant in his individual (candidate) capacity AND in his official capacity. Finchem names Fontes twice, PLUS Hobbs.

Additionally, McCauley acknowledges that he did not order the transcript of his Superior Court hearing until February 23. The deadline for him to have done so was within 15 days after filing his notice of appeal. That notice was filed December 21, meaning he was more than 1 1/2 months late. (The Court is not enforcing the missed deadline - it will be up to Fontes's attorneys to decide whether to make an issue of it.)

Finchem's Opening Brief is not due until April 7, because he has made no efforts to expedite the appeal.

Arizona's Law previously explained in detail how Finchem's appeal was effectively dead until he accidentally was granted a second life. This new filing seems to indicate that the errors and overreaching which did him in before were not an aberration.

By the way, the parties are still awaiting a ruling from Judge Julian on the Defendants' Motion for Sanctions against Finchem and/or his attorney. That decision could come at any moment.

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