Supreme Court declines appeal of sanctions against Kari Lake attorneys

The Supreme Court declined without explanation to hear an appeal seeking to overturn about $122,200 in sanctions against attorneys who represented Kari Lake and Mark Finchem. Those attorneys brought a 2022 lawsuit that challenged Arizona's use of electronic voting machines and sought to block electronic tabulators in the 2022 midterm elections. Lower courts found the claims that the machines could be hacked or produce inaccurate results unsupported and frivolous, and the Ninth Circuit upheld the sanctions. CONTESTED: Six appeals court judges warned that the sanctions could chill politically disfavored litigation. That warning sits alongside the lower courts' conclusion that the suit's claims were unsupported and frivolous. The record includes no Supreme Court explanation for declining review. With the appeal declined, the Ninth Circuit decision upholding about $122,200 in penalties stands on the record provided.