Attorney General Kris Mayes failed to convince a court of her novel argument for removing Navajo County Recorder David Marshall from office.
Mayes attempted to claim that the Arizona Constitution’s provision barring lawmakers from holding other elected or paid government positions also applied to those who left the legislature before their elected term ended, like Marshall.
Marshall resigned his state representative seat for Legislative District 7 on April 17, three days after the Navajo County Board of Supervisors appointed him as recorder and five days before he was sworn in as recorder. His term began in January 2025 and was due to end January 2027. Mayes said Marshall would have had to wait until after January 2027 to take on any other elected or paid government positions.
Mayes had first attempted to convince Marshall of her novel interpretation in a letter demanding he resign or face legal action. Mayes relied on a 1977 advisory opinion from the attorney general at the time, Bruce Babbitt. Babbitt’s opinion disputed the constitutionality of lawmakers resigning in order to accept a gubernatorial appointment.
After issuing that advisory opinion, Babbitt, a Democrat, also didn’t finish out his elected term; following the death of Wesley Bolin, Babbitt took over as governor of Arizona in early 1978.
As Marshall’s private attorney countered in an 11-page letter, Mayes’ argument was unsupported by Arizona court precedent.
That letter included three Arizona Supreme Court decisions from 1961, 1973, and 1984 which tied the state constitution’s prohibition against multiple offices to legislative membership, not legislative terms.
“[A]t least three Arizona Supreme Court decisions, although arising under different facts, confirm that [the Arizona Constitution] must be interpreted as a status-based provision tied to actual membership in the Legislature, not as an irrevocable disqualification that attaches to the calendar period of a legislative term,” said the letter.
Following the response from Marshall’s attorney, Mayes filed a writ of quo warranto complaint with the Maricopa County Superior Court (though her demand letter had promised such a complaint would be filed with the Arizona Supreme Court).
In that complaint, as in her demand letter to Marshall, Mayes claimed that Marshall still qualified as a “member of the legislature” until January 2027 despite his resignation, and was therefore ineligible to hold any other elected or employed government office.
“David Marshall was duly elected and sworn in to a two-year term as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives for the Fifty-Seventh Legislature, which concludes January 2027,” said Mayes. “At present and until then, he is constitutionally ineligible to hold any other office, regardless of his resignation from the Arizona Legislature.”
On Monday, the Maricopa County Superior Court issued a ruling which rejected Mayes’ novel argument.
Judge David McDowell said Marshall was no longer a “member of the legislature,” with “member” italicized for emphasis.
“Because he was no longer a member of the legislature, Mr. Marshall’s acceptance of the Navajo County Recorder position by taking an oath of office on April 21, 2026 did not violate Article IV, part 2, section 5 of the Arizona Constitution,” stated McDowell.
McDowell also awarded court fees to Marshall.
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