In what has been described as a “desperate political move,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a motion with the Arizona Supreme Court to stay the issuance of the mandate in Planned Parenthood v. Hazelrigg.
Mayes requested a stay of 90 days on Tuesday as the Attorney General’s Office decides whether to ask the United States Supreme Court to review the state Supreme Court’s recent decision in this case.
“The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision in the 1864 case relied on a statute that a federal court has enjoined as unconstitutionally vague,” claimed Mayes. “This raises serious federal questions under the Due Process and Supremacy Clauses. My office needs time to thoroughly evaluate these issues before deciding whether or not to ask the United States Supreme Court to review our state court’s decision.”
The Court denied the Attorney General’s motion for reconsideration on April 26, 2024.
Mayes says her request to stay the issuance of the mandate is timely, and the Court routinely grants such requests.
If the Attorney General determines that she will not pursue a review at the United States Supreme Court, her office has promised it will update the Arizona Supreme Court.
Skeptics attacked the move as political theater and an attempt to protect abortion providers across Arizona while the debate over Arizona’s abortion laws is settled. “This isn’t about any possible appeal,” said one observer of the process, “Mayes just wants to open a 90-day window for Planned Parenthood and others to crank their business back up.”