The amount of campaign cash that’s been spent by third party groups that don’t have to disclose their donors and have no spending limits — so called “dark money” — has reached an all-time high in 2014.

Republican critics of the Arizona Independent Redistricting Commission will file two lawsuits that seek to force the redrawing of the commission’s approved legislative and congressional districts.

The Arizona Supreme Court today said recall laws should be construed “liberally” because they’re written to protect the public’s right to remove an official — not for a politician’s benefit.

Seven months ago, attorney Lisa Hauser was trying to land a job serving as the redistricting commission's Republican attorney, just as she did a decade ago.

But by the time Senate Republicans ratified Brewer’s decision to remove the commission's chair for what the governor described as “gross misconduct in office,” Hauser had taken on a new redistricting client — Brewer, who will soon be called upon to defend her unprecedented action in court.

Late yesterday, the Supreme Court punted on the Pearce recall challenge, determining instead that the Court of Appeals was the proper venue for the appeal of a trial court judge’s ruling that the recall petitions are valid.

The courtroom was packed, and reporters had to sit in the chairs typically reserved for the jury in order to allow for more seating.

A judge who is weighing arguments in a lawsuit that seeks to stop the recall election against Senate President Russell Pearce gave no indication today how he would rule, but he fired off more questions to the side looking to stop the historic special election.

The lawyer who wants to stop the recall of Senate President Russell Pearce insisted in a legal filing Tuesday that the petition should be thrown out because its wording did not comply with the Arizona Constitution.

This week's most outstanding utterances, gibes and quips.

State procurement records show attorney Lisa Hauser received an evaluation from one Independent Redistricting Commission member that pushed her overall scores down far enough to place her third in contention for the job of IRC attorney.