Judge declines motion by defendants to dismiss count in second day of Lake trial

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson declined a motion by defendants this afternoon to dismiss the remaining count before they presented their case in the second day of the Kari Lake election challenge trial in Mesa. 

Attorneys for Maricopa County, the governor and the Secretary of State attempted to invoke a civil rule to push for an early ruling on partial findings as they claimed Lake, the failed GOP gubernatorial candidate last year, had already failed to meet her burden of proof.  

Thompson said, “At this particular time, I’m going to exercise the discretion to decline to render any judgment until the close of everything.” 

The second day of the trial largely focused on competing narratives surrounding Maricopa County’s signature verification process. 

Lake’s attorneys called an expert witness who questioned the speed at which signatures were verified while attorneys for defendants poked holes in the witness’s credentials and brought up scenarios where a signature would rightfully pass through the process in less than two seconds.  

Thompson also noted he gave Lake’s attorneys leeway after some procedural missteps today.  

The morning started with Lake’s attorney Bryan Blehm finishing up questioning Maricopa County elections director Rey Valenzuela. 

The testimony was interrupted by frequent objections from defendants over relevance as Blehm questioned Valenzuela. Thompson said he too was “struggling mightily” with some lines of questioning as they veered into topics not covered by the single remaining signature verification issue. 

Lake then called forensic document analyst Erich Speckin to testify.  

After laying out Speckin’s experience and expertise, Lake’s attorney Kurt Olsen said he had “no further questions,” though when cross examination was set to start, he tried to say he meant to keep questioning Speckin on his take on Maricopa County’s verification data.  

Attorneys for Maricopa County, Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Secretary of State argued the judge should not allow Lake’s team to question the witness further and expressed frustration when Thompson ultimately allowed them to do so.  

Though Thompson said, “I feel like I’m teaching a seminar,” in explaining procedural rules to Lake’s counsel.  

Thompson later acknowledged the “800-pound gorilla in the room,” noting his leniency stemmed from not wanting to come back to court in seven months “because I made a decision someone didn’t like” – as is the case with the current trial. 

Speckin alleged, referencing data from Maricopa County, that a handful of signature reviewers approved signatures more than 99% of the time while spending less than six seconds to decide whether a signature was valid.  

He noted one user’s rate of signature approvals rose the faster the reviewer went. He alleged there were about 70,000 signatures approved in less than two seconds. Speckin said he “didn’t believe” an accurate signature verification “could be done” in that timeline. 

“I can’t believe there could be thousands of people in Maricopa County that don’t do this every day that had a four-hour training or a 40-hour training that could do this faster than I ever could,” Speckin said. “No one I’ve encountered in my life could read it that fast.”  

In cross examination, Craig Morgan, an attorney for the Secretary of State, got Speckin to concede he had not actually seen any of the signatures from the 2022 election and many of the signatures approved in a quick time frame could have been an exact match. 

Morgan also pointed out three other cases where Speckin’s credentials as an expert had been precluded or questioned, though on redirect Speckin noted the “multiple hundreds” of trials where his expertise was deemed admissible.  

Lake’s counsel rested after Speckin, and attorneys for the defendants unsuccessfully moved for an early ruling as they claimed Lake failed to meet the standards of proof set by Thompson and the Arizona Supreme Court. 

The defense then called Valenzuela back to the stand.  

Through questioning by Thomas Liddy, Civil Division Chief for Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Valenzuela reiterated his own participation in multiple levels of signature verification, alongside 155 other signature verification workers employed by the county.  

Valenzuela also noted instances where a level-one signature verification worker could take less than two seconds to render a decision on a signature, like where an envelope contained no signature. And in higher levels, workers will pass an envelope through if it’s been marked as successfully cured by the voter.  

The trial is scheduled to go through tomorrow, starting with Blehm once again questioning Valenzuela in cross examination. And after redirect from the defendants, all parties will present closing arguments. 

Though the trial is set to wrap up tomorrow, Thompson said he would not rule from the bench.