On Wednesday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Tim Ryan voluntarily recused himself in the case of Petersen v. Fontes. The recusal follows a motion by the plaintiffs, Senate President Warren Petersen and Speaker of the House Ben Toma, to change the judge for cause.
Petersen and Toma sought a change of judge after Tim Ryan’s brother, attorney Tom Ryan, was accused of posting denigrating social media messages, revealing what many believed was a potential for an unfair and biased trial.
The plaintiffs argued judges should be impartial and free from any political bias. For that reason, Petersen and Toma believe Judge Timothy Ryan’s recusal was the “appropriate action to take.”
Tom Ryan was described by Petersen in a press release as a “liberal attorney who plagues social media with his contempt for the Republican-controlled Arizona Legislature with an incessant number of juvenile posts.”
Petersen believes no one who has witnessed the “antics of Judge Ryan’s brother, which included case-specific criticisms and commentary, can credibly believe that Judge Ryan could give the Legislature a fair trial.”
Ryan advertises as a personal injury and medical malpractice attorney, but he has shown up over the years in a series of high-profile political contests, consistently targeting conservative Republicans. While he often loses these cases, he has shown a knack for generating a great deal of publicity for himself and the cases.
Most recently, earlier this month, Ryan shut down his X.com account temporarily after he offered a bizarre defense for his brother in response to a tweet by Abe Hamadeh, the Republican Party’s nominee for Arizona Attorney General in 2022.
In his tweet, Hamadeh noted that it was Judge Ryan who issued what many believe was the first and ultimately decisive ruling that led to the disenfranchisement of countless voters in Maricopa County and Hamadeh’s narrow loss to now-Attorney General Kris Mayes in 2022.
“Tom, your brother Tim Ryan was the judge who denied an extension of voting hours after the DISASTEROUS Election Day in 2022 that had 4+ hour wait times and 60% of the machines failing,” tweeted Hamadeh.
Ryan responded before deleting his account, “I had no discussion with my brother before during or after that hearing. Your conduct in posting this tweet is highly unethical and recommend you remove it immediately.”
I’m legit confused by tonight’s shakedown.
Partisan attorney Tom Ryan called @StephenM of @America1stLegal a racist (defamatory).@AbrahamHamadeh responded that Tom was one to talk as Tom’s brother was the judge that refused to extend voting on Election Day in ‘22.
Then Tom… https://t.co/gALAdJzoUw
— Jen Wright (@JenWEsq) January 27, 2024
“I’m legit confused by tonight’s shakedown,” tweeted attorney Jen Wright. “Partisan attorney Tom Ryan called @StephenM of @America1stLegal a racist (defamatory). @AbrahamHamadeh responded that Tom was one to talk as Tom’s brother was the judge that refused to extend voting on Election Day in ‘22. Then Tom accuses Abe of “unethical behavior” (for stating facts). Then Tom nukes his account. That escalated quickly. Makes one wonder why Tom reacted that way?”
Ryan has previously been accused of specious attacks on Republican attorneys as part of a universal but uncoordinated effort to dissuade them from taking on election cases.