On December 11, 2019, Sherman & Howard lawyer John Alan Doran represented the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in a hearing appealing Maricopa County Assessor Paul Petersen’s 120-day suspension. The county’s supervisors unanimously voted to suspend Peterson on Oct. 29, 2019, based on allegations of smuggling and adoption fraud in Arkansas and Utah and defrauding the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.

Doran questioned Kory Langhofer, who is representing the County Assessor, regarding Mr. Petersen’s absence at his own hearing despite Langhofer’s claim that there was no need for Mr. Peterson to be present.

“Only Mr. Petersen knows what he could have or should have done in terms of his day-to-day routine as County Assessor that he didn’t do because he was too busy preparing legal pleadings,” Doran said. “And he’s not here to tell us what he didn’t do.”

Unless the Board opts to reverse its October decision, Petersen’s 120-day suspension is set to expire at the end of February.

The case has received widespread coverage in local media. Full coverage can be read at Arizona Capitol Times, AZ Mirror, KJZZ Public Radio, and KPNY 12 News.