SUPREME COURT OF ARIZONA
BRANCH, et al.,

)
)
Plaintiffs/Appellants, )
)
v.
)
)
KIM OWENS, et al.,
)
)
Defendants/Appellees. )
)
__________________________________)

Arizona Supreme Court
No. CV-20-0134-AP/EL
Maricopa County
Superior Court
No. CV2020-004881
FILED 05/14/2020

DECISION ORDER
The Court, by a panel consisting of Justice Gould, Justice
Lopez,

Justice

Beene,

and

Justice

Montgomery

has

considered

the

briefs of the parties, the trial court’s minute entry order, and the
relevant statutes and case law in this expedited election matter.1
The Court rules as follows:
IT IS ORDERED reversing the trial court.
“We uphold a trial court's findings of fact unless clearly
erroneous as not either ‘supported by reasonable evidence or based on
a reasonable conflict of evidence.’”

Moreno v. Jones, 213 Ariz. 94,

98 (2006)(citation omitted). Here the trial court erred in finding
that

the

candidate

had

rehabilitated

a

sufficient

number

of

signatures to remain on the ballot.
The
signatures
1

only
that

evidence
were

offered

invalidated

by

Owens

because

to
the

rehabilitate

the

signer

not

was

Justice Bolick has recused himself from participating in this matter.

 Arizona Supreme Court Case No. CV-20-0134-AP/EL
Page 2 of 3
registered to vote was the “GOP Data Center” records.
failed

to

make

the

Data

Center

records

records offered or received into evidence.

However, Owens

available,

nor

were

the

Additionally, there was

no testimony establishing that either the Data Center records or
Owen’s testimony about the records constituted reliable, competent
evidence

for

the

court

to

consider.

Accordingly,

there

was

no

reasonable evidence to support the trial court’s finding that the
candidate rehabilitated a sufficient number of signatures to remain
on the ballot.
IT

IS

FURTHER

ORDERED

that

the

defendant/appellee

County

Boards of Supervisors and County Recorders shall remove Kim Owens
from

the

Republican

ballot

for

the

office

of

the

corporation

commission for the August 4, 2020 primary election. The requested
injunction is granted.
DATED this 14th day of May, 2020.

_______/S/_____________________
ANDREW GOULD
Duty Justice

 Arizona Supreme Court Case No. CV-20-0134-AP/EL
Page 3 of 3
TO:
Timothy A LaSota
James E Barton II
Jacqueline Soto
Dennis I Wilenchik
John D Wilenchik
David J Cantelme
D Aaron Brown
Nancy M Bonnell
Kara Karlson
Dustin D Romney
Joseph Eugene La Rue
Emily M Craiger
Britt W Hanson
Christine Roberts
Rose Winkeler
Mark D Byrnes
Jefferson R Dalton
Jeremy O Ford
Chase Walter McCormies
Garet Kartchner
Ryan Henry Esplin
Tony Rogers
Ryan Norton Dooley
Jason S Moore
Daniel S Jurkowitz
Scott Matthew Johnson
George E Silva
Kimberly J Hunley
Thomas M Stoxen
Matthew Black
William J Kerekes
Hon. Timothy J Thomason
Hon. Jeff Fine
Aaron Nash
Alicia Moffatt