Petition to Amend Rule 3, Rules of Procedure for Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions
Pursuant to Rule 28, Ariz. R. Sup. Ct., the New Civil Liberties Alliance (“NCLA”) petitions this Court to amend Arizona Rule of Procedure for Judicial Review of Administrative Decisions 3 (“JRAD Rule 3”). NCLA is a nonprofit civil-rights organization and public-interest law firm devoted to defending constitutional freedoms. NCLA was founded to challenge multiple constitutional defects in the modern administrative state through original litigation, amicus curiae briefs, and other means of advocacy. The proposed amendments to JRAD Rule 3 will remedy the inadvertent adoption of the preliminary-injunction standard as the “good cause” standard under
2A.R.S. § 12-911 for stays of administrative decisions (“2018 JRAD Rule 3 Amendment”). The proposed rule would replace the preliminary-injunction standard with the court-recognized “colorable claim” standard for stays adopted under A.R.S.§ 12-911. The standard for evaluating preliminary injunctions is a more exacting standard of review than the “good cause” standard contemplated by the legislature and prevailing case law when the 2018 JRAD Rule 3 Amendment was adopted. Thus, amending JRAD Rule 3 to recognize the “colorable claim” standard would protect litigants’ statutory right to the stay remedy and give practical effect to the legislature’s design. The proposed amendment to JRAD Rule 3 would also accomplish the goal of the 2018 JRAD Rule 3 Amendment—to aid litigants seeking stays of administrative decisions by including core factors courts apply when addressing and evaluating stays.
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April 29, 2020 – Goldwater Institute’s Comment in Support of the Petition
June 1, 2020 – Petitioner’s Reply in Support of the Petition
January 9, 2020