BREAKING: Judge Sets May 16 Oral Argument On Abe Hamadeh's Motion for a New Trial, Mentions Other Outstanding Motions (READ Order)

Mohave County Superior Court Judge Lee Jantzen has - finally - set a May 16 date for oral arguments on Abe Hamadeh's Motion for a New Trial in his Election Contest lawsuit.

Arizona's Law reported last week on the relaxed pace of this case, in light of the Arizona Constitution's requirement that trial courts decide matters within 60 days of submission.

Jantzen explained today that he had completed "the emergency portion of this case... around Christmas", and he notes he has "continued to receive supplemental briefings on this motion (for New Trial), including as recently as last week." (In effect, he is blaming Hamadeh's periodic filings for the delay.)

Jantzen also granted the motion from State Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma to file a friend-of-the-court ("amicus") brief in the case. And, he noted he will not rule on sanctions and other compensation motions until after he resolves the new trial motion.

Hamadeh is claiming that a new trial should be granted because the Secretary of State's Office withheld information about the state-mandated recount that would have helped his case. Judge Jantzen dismissed it after a brief hearing in which Hamadeh's counsel acknowledged he did not have enough evidence to overturn Hamadeh's 280-vote loss to Kris Mayes.

(Side note: The Order also gave *participants* the password information to participate by Zoom in the May 16 hearing. Given past hearings in the other cases, this will likely have to be changed to avoid a debacle.)

Chandler attorney Tom Ryan shared his thoughts with Arizona's Law

: "Poor Judge Jantzen. He makes a clear cut ruling after Hamadeh’s attorney admits, in open court, on the record, he has no facts, no evidence, no case. And now he is inundated with post-trial motion after post-trial motion, and supplemental filing after supplemental filing. A reader of Judge Jantzen’s Order will get a clear sense of Judge Jantzen’s exasperation with the situation. Judge Jantzen probably sympathizes with Michael Corleone in the Godfather when he griped, “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” https://youtu.be/UPw-3e_pzqU And like Sysphus of Greek literature, poor Judge Jantzen seems to be condemned to an eternity of rolling the rock to near the top of the hill, only to watch it roll down to the bottom again. But unlike Sysphus, Judge Jantzen has tools at his disposal to stop this endless parade of post-election harassment. Let’s hope he does so."

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