The judge who is overseeing a legal challenge to the Arizona Senate’s audit of votes cast in the state’s largest election during the 2020 presidential election has recused himself from the case less than 24 hours before a scheduled Monday morning hearing.
Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Coury recused himself from the legal challenge on Sunday afternoon after learning that attorney Chris Viskovic, with whom he’d had a prior working relationship, had joined the case, 12 News first reported.
According to a copy of the recusal obtained by the news outlet, the court received filings at 4 p.m. that included names of new attorneys, including Viskovic, who worked at the office of Coury “as an extern within the past five years.”
Viskovic now holds a position as a junior associate at Kolodin Law Group PLLC, which is representing the Florida-based cybersecurity firm Cyber Ninjas in court. Cyber Ninjas is one of four firms hired by the state Senate to conduct the audit.
The recusal notes that in accordance with the state’s code of judicial conduct and rules of the Arizona Supreme Court, Coury must recuse himself from any further involvement in the case. The case will be reassigned to a new judicial officer, it says.
It isn’t yet clear who will replace Coury, a Republican, in the case.
