Finchem, attorney ordered to pay $48K in sanctions in ‘groundless’ election challenge

A judge has ordered Mark Finchem and his attorney to pay more than $48,000 in legal fees as sanctions for bringing what the judge had called a "groundless" challenge to the results of last fall's race for Arizona secretary of state.

The ruling, released late Friday, contrasts with a decision issued the same day by another judge who handled Kari Lake's challenge of her loss in last year's race for governor. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson declined to issue sanctions that were requested by county officials.

In the Finchem case, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Julian ordered Finchem to pay the $40,272 attorney fee bill that Adrian Fontes accrued in defending against Finchem's lawsuit, which alleged misconduct in the Nov. 8 election and sought a do-over of the race.

Fontes, a Democrat, won by more than 120,000 votes against Finchem, the Republican nominee.

The judge also ordered Finchem's attorney, Daniel McAuley III, to cover the $7,434 attorney fee bill of then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, whose office was named in the lawsuit.

In addition, Julian ordered Finchem to pay a combined $385 in taxable costs related to the suit: $293 to Fontes and $92 to Hobbs.

Finchem, in a text message, argued Julian has no authority to issue sanctions but stopped short of saying whether he would appeal her order, issued May 22 but released Friday.

"There is no provision in contest law for a judge to award sanctions. Hard stop," he wrote.

If the sanctions are allowed to stand, he argued, it would put a "cold, wet blanket" on dissent.

But state law allows judges to award "reasonable attorney fees" if a party files a complaint without substantial justification, which Julian argued was the case with Finchem's complaint.

Fontes declined to comment on the ruling.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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