By Jeremy Duda | Arizona Capitol Times
Arguing that Yavapai County Sheila Polk impermissibly acted as judge, jury and executioner in their campaign finance case, lawyers for former Attorney General Tom Horne and his ally Kathleen Winn urged the Arizona Supreme Court to throw out a $400,000 fine for their alleged violation.
Dennis Wilenchik, Horne’s attorney, said Arizona’s administrative review process doesn’t permit Polk to take on the multifaceted role she assumed in the case. Polk, he said, initiated the case against Horne and Winn, participated in the investigation and was the ultimate decision-maker who determined that they should be fined for violating campaign finance laws, rejecting a recommendation from an administrative law judge that the case be dropped.
That prohibition is a “bright line,” Wilenchik said, and Polk stepped over it.
