The dismissal of the federal lawsuit against the state’s employer sanctions law doesn’t surprise the architect of the measure, who says he is convinced the attorneys botched the suit intentionally in hopes of getting a second legal challenge assigned to a different judge.
Rep. Russell Pearce says the business groups and Hispanic advocacy groups challenging the law knew months ago the lawsuit was aimed at the wrong defendants, and would thus be dismissed. In a Sept. 10 motion to dismiss the case, Attorney General Terry Goddard argued he and Gov. Janet Napolitano should not be defendants in the case, as neither official is responsible for enforcing the law. He said the suit should instead be aimed at the 15 county attorneys who will investigate complaints and prosecute violators.
The plaintiffs had every opportunity to amend the complaint to include the county attorneys as defendants, but opted not to in order to get the case dismissed because they felt federal Judge Neil Wake would not rule in their favor, Pearce says.
“They didn’t want Judge Wake, so they didn’t amend the complaint. They were judge shopping,” Pearce, R-18, said.
Wake dismissed the Arizona Contractors Association, Inc. v. Napolitano lawsuit Dec. 7. A new suit, Arizona Contractors Association, Inc. v. Candelaria, which names all 15 county attorneys as defendants, was filed Dec. 9.
But the plaintiffs categorically deny any allegations their attorneys purposely lost the first lawsuit in order to try a later challenge in front of another judge.
“It is pure fantasy to think the plaintiffs’ attorneys did anything improper to influence the normal course of the federal lawsuit against Arizona’s unconstitutional employer sanctions law,” said Farrell Quinlan, a spokesman for many of the plaintiffs in the lawsuits.
Pearce, though, says he has spoken with people involved in the plaintiffs’ case who have told him the strategy was aimed at trying the case before a different judge.
“I’ve heard from inside folks who have…admitted that, yeah, they know what’s going on,” he said. “I don’t care if they deny it or not. The world knows [otherwise]. They also deny they’re hiring illegal aliens. The world knows [otherwise].”
Trying to manipulate the system to get a different judge is dishonest, Pearce says, and would be a breach of the State Bar of Arizona’s code of ethics.
“If they’re being dishonest, they ought to be disbarred,” he said.
David Selden, an attorney for the plaintiffs, declined to comment, saying he and the other attorneys had not yet reviewed Pearce’s comments.
However, Quinlan says it’s patently obvious the new lawsuit was expected to be assigned to Wake, given that the cover sheet for the lawsuit clearly indicates the dismissed suit is a related case. The new lawsuit also specifically addresses shortcomings in the legal arguments Wake cited when he dismissed the original case.
Quinlan called on Pearce to apologize for accusing the attorneys of unethical behavior.
“Rep. Russell Pearce has the responsibility to retract his misstatement and apologize for his call for disbarment of plaintiff’s lawyers,” he said.
Pearce told Arizona Capitol Times he would do no such thing.
“They’re liars,” he said of the plaintiffs. “It’s really sad, but they really are just dishonest in what they’re doing.”