PHOENIX — A Maricopa County Superior Court judge has dismissed the lawsuit filed by fired prosecutor April Sponsel against her former bosses.
In the five-page ruling below, Judge Danielle Viola wrote that Sponsel’s claims of defamation and false light should be dismissed with prejudice because they failed at a fundamental level.
In an emailed statement, her attorney, Tom Moring, wrote, “At this time Ms. Sponsel has not made a decision on her appeal rights, we are reviewing the decision. We are, of course, disappointed.”
Sponsel filed the lawsuit in February 2022.
She alleged that former County Attorney Allister Adel personally knew about a plan to charge a group of police protesters as a criminal street gang and falsely blamed her for going rogue after public backlash.
Sponsel was put on leave and eventually fired because a 2021 ABC15 investigation that exposed her cases against protesters were based on wild lies and exaggerations.
The dismissed lawsuit is Sponsel’s latest legal loss.
In December, Arizona’s disciplinary presiding judge suspended her law license for two years because of her misconduct in the protest cases.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
