Arizona Supreme Court turns away Cyber Ninjas’ request to throw out fines

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court is declining to consider a request by Cyber Ninjas Inc. to throw out a $50,000 per day fine for failing to release public records about the state Senate’s 2020 election review.

Justice Ann Scott Timmer wrote in an order dated Thursday that the request should be filed with the Court of Appeals.

The rejection is another failure in Cyber Ninjas repeated attempts to get the Supreme Court to weigh in on lower court rulings that found the company is subject to the state public records law. In the latest petition, Cyber Ninjas repeats arguments it made in November — which the court declined to consider — and made a new argument that the $50,000 fine was improper.

The company argued the fine is punitive and based in part on information the judge read in the news, not facts presented in court.

That daily fine started accumulating in January and has grown to more than $3 million.

Cyber Ninjas was the chief contractor hired to lead the Senate’s unprecedented review of election materials from Maricopa County, including ballots and counting machines. The company is fighting public records requests lawsuits filed by the parent company of The Arizona Republic newspaper and American Oversight, a left-leaning watchdog group.

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