By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services/Arizona Daily Sun
A judge on Thursday rejected a bid by an aide to Attorney General Tom Horne to have the limits on donations to candidates declared unconstitutional.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sally Duncan sidestepped the legal issue of whether the caps — caps that the Secretary of State’s Office said Horne and Kathleen Winn violated — interfere with their First Amendment rights. Instead, she said that Winn has no legal standing to challenge the laws, at least not at this point.
In essence, Duncan said Winn — and Horne — will have to wait until Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk decides whether to pursue charges against the pair.
The ruling disappointed Tim LaSota, Winn’s attorney. He was hoping for a ruling in his favor, a move that likely would have tossed the entire question of whether Winn and Horne might face campaign finance charges.
