The Arizona Attorney General’s Office claims state officials don’t know how to respond to a judge’s order to adjust contribution rates to a retirement fund for the judiciary and elected officials.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge ruled July 20 that a state law capping employer contributions rates to retirement funds for judges and elected officials is unconstitutional, and that it’s up to Arizona lawmakers to find a solution.

Attorneys for the Independent Redistricting Commission and Republican voters filed their final written briefs Wednesday in a lawsuit to determine whether Arizona’s legislative map should be redrawn.

Federal judges hearing a civil suit brought by Republican voters who claim the state's new legislative maps were illegally drawn to benefit Democrats questioned lawyers Friday about whether some members of the commission that made the maps were free of political influence.

The future of Arizona’s legislative map is in the hands of three federal judges, who wrapped up four days of trial testimony March 28 and heard pointblank denials from Democrats that they gerrymandered the districts.

A Democratic redistricting commissioner and the Democratic party’s interim executive director denied insinuations they were part of a conspiracy to rig the state’s legislative maps. But newly released records showed party leaders and incumbent lawmakers were at least included in mapping strategy emails sent to the commissioner on his non-commission email account. And phone records show more connection than the commissioner had previously acknowledged.

The lawyer for an embroiled Phoenix-area politician on Dec. 15 accused Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas of investigating his client for political and personal motives. Colin Campbell, who represents Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox, is questioning why Thomas's office filed 36 charges against Wilcox, and said "there are elementary mistakes of fact in the allegations that suggest carelessness, rush to judgment, and improper motives."