Captain Joel Fox to Argue SCA Case on Appeal Before Judge Tomorrow

Maricopa County Sheriff's Captain Joel Fox will argue before a Superior Court judge on Tuesday that he shouldn't have to turn over the names of donors behind a nebulous $105,000 contribution to the Arizona Republican Party. The county elections department has wanted to see those names since election season, but...

By Ray Stern

July 6, 2009

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Maricopa County Sheriff's Captain Joel Fox will argue before a Superior Court judge on Tuesday that he shouldn't have to turn over the names of donors behind a nebulous $105,000 contribution to the Arizona Republican Party.

The county elections department has wanted to see those names since election season, but Fox won't budge. As a result, the county had been preparing to levy a fine totaling triple the contribution amount before Fox filed his appeal last week.

The county's response to Fox's appeal [see below] makes hamburger of the captain's reasoning and describes why the public has a "vital need" for the information Fox is hiding.

Attorney Jeffrey Messing, the county's hired gun in this case, also points out that the elections department hasn't offcially ordered Fox to pay the $315,000 fine yet -- they've simply asked him to cough up standard info on the SCA that any political committee is required to reveal. Fox has asked the court to stay the fine, a move Messing calls premature.

Oral argument on the case is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday before Judge Robert Houser.

**

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Response Mtn Stay Sca Cas

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Ray Stern is the former news editor of Phoenix New Times. He worked as a newspaper reporter in Arizona for more than two decades. He's won numerous awards for his reporting, including the Arizona Press Club's Don Bolles Award for Investigative Journalism.