The State Bar of Arizona and a fired Maricopa County Attorney’s Office prosecutor appear to be headed to a disciplinary trial later this year.
April Sponsel is aggressively fighting three Bar complaints and has turned down a settlement offer, according to multiple sources.
The three complaints have been consolidated into a single case and hearings are scheduled for October, records show.
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Sponsel colluded with Phoenix police to falsely charge dozens of protesters.
In the most egregious example, she and officers invented a fake gang and charged protesters as members.
All of the charges were eventually dismissed.
The Bar defense for Sponsel will likely be costly for taxpayers as the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors just approved up to $350,000 to be set aside.
“As an employer of attorneys with various expertise, the County defends these employees in the rare circumstance of a Bar complaint,” said Fields Moseley, who is the Board’s spokesperson.
Moseley said the County’s Risk Trust has a duty to defend an attorney who faces Bar complaints arising from their employment.
In the past, disciplinary cases against a pair of high-profile prosecutors cost taxpayers nearly $1.5 million.
Before his eventual disbarment, former County Attorney Andrew Thomas’s disciplinary case cost more than $902,000.
Juan Martinez, who prosecuted Jodi Arias, racked up 12 Bar complaints, totaling $441,000 in defense costs before he was disbarred.
The State Bar appears to be pursuing a significant punishment for Sponsel.
A Bar spokesperson confirmed that the same attorneys who worked to disbar Martinez are assigned to the Sponsel case.
Contact ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing at Dave@ABC15.com.
