The SBA dismissed a complaint filed by the campaign manager for Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Gilbert) against Adam Trenk, just 11 days after it was filed. Trenk, a Scottsdale attorney and former vice mayor of Cave Creek, who supports Petersen’s Republican primary opponent for Arizona Attorney General, Rodney Glassman, published an article in the Arizona Capitol Times claiming that Petersen does not meet the statutory 5-year practicing attorney requirement under A.R.S. 41-191(A) to serve as Attorney General.
Petersen believes he is eligible to serve based on the Arizona Supreme Court’s 1978 ruling in State ex rel. Sawyer v. LaSota. The court held that the statutory 5-year practicing attorney requirement in A.R.S. 41-191(A) is unconstitutional. It impermissibly adds qualifications for the Attorney General beyond those listed in the Arizona Constitution, which merely requires the AG to be at least 25 years old, a U.S. citizen for 10 years and an Arizona citizen for five years preceding election, with no explicit bar admission or practice requirement.
The court emphasized that the legislature cannot impose additional barriers that effectively disqualify someone from holding the office in a way that conflicts with constitutional eligibility. In the LaSota case, the challenger was not a practicing attorney, he was on retired status, yet the court allowed him to serve.
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