Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin agreed to accept punishment from the State Bar of Arizona for his actions while representing clients who challenged the results of the 2020 election.
The bar received multiple complaints against Kolodin for his work as an attorney on multiple election-related cases, including a dismissed lawsuit brought by Arizona’s so-called “fake electors.” That case asked a court to throw out all of Maricopa County’s mail-in ballots in 2020 in an effort to flip the election to former President Donald Trump.
As part of his settlement, Kolodin admitted to violating rules barring attorneys from bringing cases in bad faith and “committing conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice.”
“Allegations that find favor in the public sphere of gossip and innuendo cannot be a substitute for the earnest pleadings and procedure in federal court,” U.S. District Court Judge Diane Humetewa wrote in the order dismissing the case. “They most certainly cannot be the basis for upending Arizona’s 2020 General Election.”
The bar placed Kolodin on 18 months probation. The probationary period can be reduced to one year if he completes five legal ethics courses.
In a statement, Kolodin accused the individuals who filed the bar complaints of doing so for political reasons.
“It has been well documented that the people who filed these complaints are radical left-wing activists,” he wrote. “It is unfortunate that the bar’s effort to keep lawyers honest is being gamed by political operatives. I was happy to have the opportunity to protect my team and give them the opportunity to put this matter behind them.”
The complaints also cited a defamation suit in which Kolodin represented current state Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale) and former lawmaker Mark Finchem. The pair filed a lawsuit against former Democratic legislator Charlene Fernandez over a letter asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate alleged participation in or incitement of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Fernandez was one of 42 Democrats who signed the letter but was the only signer named in the lawsuit.
A judge eventually dismissed that case and awarded sanctions against the plaintiffs.
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AZ State Bar disciplines Arizona lawyer who represented ‘fake electors’
