As Republican Judge Jefferson Griffin sues to discard more than 65,000 ballots in the state Supreme Court race, questions around legal costs have been raised as the lawsuit has hit a four-month mark.
Griffin’s legal defense fund has reportedly raised $17,200 and $14,000 in legal expenditures, according to The News & Observer.
Amid Griffin running up an ever-increasing legal bill, one of his biggest donors is on the state Court of Appeals preparing to hear this case.
According to WUNC, Judge Tom Murry donated $5,000 in December. In addition, Conrad Sturges III gave $4,000 to Griffin’s legal expense fund.
That is significant because Sturges’ wife, Cynthia Sturges, is a state Superior Court judge who, earlier this month, handled a motion filed by Griffin’s attorneys, WUNC reports.
Earlier this month, Justice Allison Riggs’ legal team filed a motion requesting Murry to recuse himself from the ballot challenge case.
“One might hope that if Judge Griffin has decided that he should not participate in any consideration of his arguments, perhaps Judge Murry shouldn’t participate in deciding whether his investment in the lawyers arguing before him was a good one,” Anne Tindall, and impacted voter and Special Counsel at Protect Democracy told WCNC.
Despite questions about ethics and impartiality being raised, Griffin has openly opposed the motion removing his financial backer from overseeing his case.
“There’s a whole other question here about the ethics of providing that kind of support and what does that do to public perception of our courts,” Ann Webb, an attorney at Common Cause NC told WCNC.
According to NC Newsline, Griffin’s lawyers stated in a court brief that it was “premature” to ask for Murry’s recusal because members of the three-judge panel haven’t been announced, and “there is currently no reason to believe that Judge Murry will be on the panel.”
Riggs’ legal team filed the recusal motion, along with a request for the full Appeals Court to hear the case. The Riggs team stated in a brief that an initial full-court hearing is warranted because the case involves “an issue of exceptional importance that must be concisely stated.”
Griffin is challenging over 65, 500 votes cast by North Carolinians in the 2024 November elections. Griffin is targeting military service members, young and Black voters, and ballots cast from Democratic-leaning counties.
Despite two recounts confirming Justice Allison Riggs won the state Supreme Court seat by 734 votes, Griffin is attempting to throw out thousands of votes in an effort to overturn the election results.
