Cochise County supervisors face a legal battle and possible fines. Who will pay for it?
Taxpayers won't be covering the bill to defend two Cochise County supervisors charged last week with interfering in the 2022 election.
Supervisors Tom Crosby and Peggy Judd are on the hook for their own legal costs, said Cochise County Attorney Brian McIntyre. They will be responsible for covering any fines the court might order and personally hiring and paying their attorneys.
"Though the conduct related to their actions while they were on the board, they are indicted as people — regular people," McIntyre said. "This is a criminal case against two individuals, so it doesn't involve the county in terms of county resources."
The news comes after Crosby and Judd, both of whom are Republicans, voted to delay certification of the vote last year. They said they wanted a meeting to hear evidence about county vote-tallying machines and whether they were properly certified. By that time, they had ignored repeated legal advice that their actions were illegal.
The supervisors were quickly sued, including by then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs. One lawsuit yielded a court order to certify the result, which the supervisors convened to do — though Crosby didn't show up. Judd ultimately joined Supervisor Ann English, a Democrat, in voting 2-0 to send the results to Hobbs just four days before the statewide canvass.
Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes later investigated and presented the case to a grand jury, securing an indictment. Crosby and Judd are scheduled for arraignment on Dec. 21, said Attorney General's Office spokesperson Richie Taylor.
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Why won't the county pick up the bill?
The Attorney General's Office generally doesn't specify in its charging documents whether a defendant is being charged as an individual or a government official, Taylor said.
Instead, whether a government official sees their legal fees paid by taxpayers or not often depends on their employer's insurance coverage.
Thirteen of Arizona's counties — all except its largest, Maricopa and Pima — band together to secure insurance through the Arizona Counties Insurance Pool.
Counties' insurance policies generally include risk management coverage.
For instance, former Cochise County Elections Director Lisa Marra received a $130,000 settlement through the insurance pool after filing a notice of constructive discharge against the county in January. She claimed Crosby and Judd created a toxic work environment, pressuring her to participate in a hand count of the 2022 midterm election to assuage some constituents who believed the election was stolen.
But McIntyre said the insurance pool only pays expenses related to civil litigation, not criminal actions brought against public officials. That means it won't cover any legal costs or fines levied against Crosby and Judd in this case.
Who will pay the tab?
Even if Cochise County won't pick up the bill, Crosby and Judd may not be entirely on their own.
Private organizations and individuals have previously stepped up to help foot costs for election skeptics.
A handful of nonprofits whose leaders touted election conspiracies poured millions into the Arizona Senate-ordered review of 2020 presidential election results in Maricopa County.
Last month, attorney Bryan Blehm pledged to represent Mohave County at "no cost" as its supervisors weighed greenlighting manual tabulation. If county leaders voted in favor of a hand count, Blehm promised he would represent them in any resulting lawsuits without taking a dime from county coffers.
"Any litigation will be 100% private pay," Blehm wrote, although he didn't disclose who might be paying him.
Crosby and Judd both referred The Arizona Republic to their lawyers in response to questions about who is paying for their legal defense. Attorneys Dennis Wilenchik, who represents Crosby, and Kurt Altman, who represents Judd, did not return The Republic's requests for comment.
Other Republican-leaning counties take indictment as a warning
Mayes made clear while announcing charges against Crosby and Judd that she wouldn't tolerate "attempts to undermine our democracy."
“I took an oath to uphold the rule of law, and my office will continue to enforce Arizona’s elections laws and support our election officials as they carry out the duties and responsibilities of their offices," she said.
For leaders of Republican-leaning counties, her comments add to fears that a move toward hand counting or refusing to certify election results next year could end in an indictment or a lawsuit.
Mayes told Mohave County officials in a letter last month that the "legal consequences would be serious" if they opted to hand count next year's elections. In a 3-2 vote, supervisors ultimately decided against the manual tabulation proposal.
Supervisor Hildy Angius said at a Monday meeting that Mayes had "overstepped" in indicting Crosby and Judd and that she would propose a resolution in support of the Cochise County supervisors.
"This going to be a horrible, chilling effect... If we don’t fight this now, this is going to come back to bite us," she said.
In Pinal County, supervisors have also stayed away from authorizing a hand count. County Attorney Kent Volkmer told the board last month that hand counting or refusing to certify next year's election results could bring legal trouble.
"You'll be sued," Volkmer said. "You will lose. And I believe the Attorney General's Office will bring criminal charges."
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff Serdy told The Republic last week that he still wouldn't commit to certifying election results in 2024.
"It depends on how the election goes," he said. "We need to have it in our authority that if we think something is wrong, we need to be able to say, 'Hey, this is not right. Let's look at it some more.'"
But he expressed concern over the potential legal ramifications that such a move could bring down on him and county taxpayers.
"It just gives me a sick feeling in my stomach that they would actually come after someone for doing what they think is the right thing to do," Serdy said, adding that he supports Crosby and Judd.
Sasha Hupka covers county government and election administration for The Arizona Republic. Do you have a tip to share on elections or voting? Reach her at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @SashaHupka. Follow her on Instagram or Threads: @sashahupkasnaps.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: County officials indicted for election interference to pay legal costs
