PHOENIX — A Maricopa County judge on Wednesday denied U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake's motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit brought by fellow Republican Stephen Richer, one of the county's top elections officials.
In a 13-page decision, Superior Court Judge Jay Adleman ruled that Lake statements that Richer cited as defamatory were provable as false before a jury, based on evidence provided to the court.
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The statements were related to Richer's conduct as Maricopa County recorder during Lake's 2022 run for governor.
Adleman also dismissed Lake's lawyer's contention that her comments fell in the category of protected political speech.
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"Defendant Lake's statements regarding improper 19-inch ballots and/or the existence of 300,000 fraudulent ballots may be discerned by a factfinder as either true or false when considered in the light of any available evidence. These statements constitute assertions of fact that are actionable under prevailing Arizona law," Adleman wrote in an opinion issued less than 24 hours after hearing arguments from both sides.
Adleman noted from the bench that he had several months to read over the briefs from both sides.
The ruling could be appealed by Lake's attorneys. Attorneys for Richer, the first-term Maricopa County recorder, will now move toward trial by seeking evidence from Lake and others to build their case.
A trial could occur next year in the midst of Lake's run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate.
The case could set a legal precedent. It marks the first test of an expanded Arizona "anti-SLAPP law" that the Legislature broadened last year to allow courts to toss out cases based on an individual's right to free speech.
SLAPP stands for Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation.
Richer's lawyers described Lake's anti-SLAPP defense as a "sweeping reading" of the law - a "get-out-of defamation-free card."
Richer's lawsuit asked the court to require Lake, her campaign, and a campaign-related fund to remove all false and defamatory statements from their web pages and social media accounts.
The suit singles out two Lake claims that it says are demonstrably false: that Richer "sabotaged" electronic ballot printers and inserted 300,000 phony or illegal ballots into the Maricopa County ballot count.
"She's allowed to insult me, criticize my abilities, criticize my hair," Richer said in an interview Tuesday after the 80-minute court hearing, which he did not attend.
"She is not allowed to say that I did something that was criminally unlawful, something that has been adjudicated by multiple courts as absolutely, positively not happening."
Lake responded to the decision on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Lake's attorney Jennifer Wright, a former assistant attorney general for election integrity under Republican AG Mark Brnovich, told Judge Adleman: "Recorder Richer can not prove actual malice... Kari Lake's statements are based on provable facts... Nothing in what she says is incitement."
Wright later said: "Largely, the facts are true."
In an aside, Wright described the 2022 election a "debacle."
Since Lake's defeat in last year's governor's race, virtually every one of Lake's election challenges has been tossed out by a court.
Two of her lawyers face disciplinary action by the State Bar of Arizona for alleged ethics violations. Her lawyers have also been sanctioned for false claims in both federal and state courts.
"I've had the courage to speak out and talk about these disgusting elections," Lake said at the right-wing America Fest event in Phoenix this past weekend.
"We have touched the topic we're not supposed to talk about
Lake brought an Arizona State University student onto her legal team.
Jessica Banks, a second-year law student from Montana, handled the anti-SLAPP law argument.
Banks prepped for the assignment through final exams at Arizona State University, under the guidance of ASU's First Amendment Clinic, according to clinic director Gregg Leslie.
"This has nothing to do with politics," Leslie said after the hearing. "It has everything to do with speech."
If he allows the lawsuit to go forward, a trial could be held in the middle of next year's election season.
You can read the full decision below:
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