Maricopa County Supervisors Decide Not to Fund Appeals, If Any, for Andrew Thomas and Rachel Alexander

Disbarred former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas can no longer rely on taxpayers to pick up his legal fees.The Board of Supervisors decided yesterday during executive session not to fund Thomas' appeal of his disbarment, should he file one, county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick says.His former underling, Rachel Alexander, would also...

By Ray Stern

April 17, 2012

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Disbarred former Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas can no longer rely on taxpayers to pick up his legal fees.

The Board of Supervisors decided yesterday during executive session not to fund Thomas' appeal of his disbarment, should he file one, county spokeswoman Cari Gerchick says.

His former underling, Rachel Alexander, would also have to fend for herself if she chooses to appeal her law-license suspension.

Lisa Aubuchon filed an appeal of her disbarment on Friday, but the county wasn't paying for her defense in the state Supreme Court disciplinary proceedings. Her pro-bono lawyer is Ed Moriarity, of Montana.

Maricopa County reportedly has paid hundreds of thousands to defend both Thomas and Aubuchon in the past, however.

We've put in a request with the county to find out the grand total of legal fees paid by taxpayers to Thomas, Aubuchon and Alexander.

Still no word on whether the Board of Supervisors decided yesterday to approve a $1 million settlement for Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox.

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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.