PHOENIX — A judge will hear arguments May 10 whether to dissolve a court order that keeps an Arizona Capitol Times reporter away from the three homes of state Sen. Wendy Rogers.
The hearing will be the first opportunity for reporter Camryn Sanchez’s attorney to question Rogers about her allegations the reporter harassed her by going to houses the senator owns in Maricopa County to check where she is living.
Rogers claims a mobile home in Flagstaff, in her legislative district. The houses in Maricopa County are not in her district.
At an April 19 court hearing, Rogers testified under oath she has had “the home that we’ve had in Tempe near the Capitol for the nearly past 20-some years.’’ She said there is also “a home we are purchasing and moving to to have near the Capitol in Chandler.’’
Amy Criddle, a Flagstaff city magistrate who also serves as a pro-tem justice of the peace, issued an “injunction against harassment.’’ It was based solely on Rogers’ testimony about Sanchez going to the two Maricopa County homes and comments by Rogers about being approached by Sanchez in February on the Senate floor.
That order was issued without an opportunity for Sanchez to respond.
On May 10, however, Howard Grodman, the justice of the peace for the Flagstaff district, will hear evidence presented by both sides and decide whether to keep the injunction in place.
Rogers did not respond Thursday to an inquiry about whether she will attend.
Any taxpayer role unclear
Kim Quintero, a spokeswoman for the Senate Republican majority, said she does not know whether taxpayers will pick up the cost of any attorney hired to help Rogers keep the harassment order in place.
The case has garnered interest because it involves a court imposing limits on the ability of a reporter to approach elected officials.
According to the newspaper, Sanchez had uncovered a public record showing Rogers and her husband bought a home in Chandler in January. There also was a trust document Rogers signed saying she lived in Tempe.
The paper reported that Sanchez had gone to the residences in an attempt to speak with neighbors to find out whether Rogers lived at either address and to ask Rogers why the document she signed listed her as being a resident of Tempe.
Rogers subsequently posted photos online of Sanchez taken from a doorbell camera at at least one of the two properties.
The senator claimed in her petition to the court that Sanchez, in showing up at her homes, had violated an order by Senate Republican leaders that the reporter not approach her in the Senate.
Senate floor also at issue
But Quintero said that directive covered only what Sanchez could do within the confines of the Senate building.
Rogers also said — and Senate President Warren Petersen confirmed — he had suggested she seek the injunction. Quintero said, however, that Petersen did not limit any of Sanchez’s other activities in covering the Senate, nor did he revoke the privileges reporters now possess to be on the Senate floor when lawmakers are in session.
An audio recording of the April 19 hearing shows Rogers, in explaining to Criddle why she wanted an injunction, specifically mentioned the incident in February where Sanchez approached her on the Senate floor.
“I tried to ignore her, but she persisted,’’ Rogers testified. “I told her, ‘You are dismissed.’ ‘’
The judge refused to tell Sanchez she had to stay away from Rogers at all locations, particularly because she had no opportunity to hear from the reporter.
“One of the things a court has to determine in granting the request for an injunction is that there’s a series of events that would be considered by a reasonable person to be harassing, annoying, that have no legitimate purpose,’’ Criddle said. “The piece I’m having some trouble with specifically is the interrogation of you in February.’’
The judge said she understands that Rogers had instructed Sanchez, through Senate staffers, to stay away from her. But that, Criddle said, did not make the reporter’s actions improper or legally restrainable.
“I can’t be sure that her purpose in trying to have communication with you was beyond what would be considered a legitimate purpose,’’ the judge said.
What Criddle said did concern her is that Sanchez was showing up at the Tempe home where Rogers lived and the Chandler home which she and her husband had bought and were renovating.
“Is that a standard practice for reporters to track senators at their residences?’’ Criddle asked Rogers. “Do you know if that’s normal?’’
“To my knowledge, it is not normal,’’ Rogers responded.
Arizona Capitol Times has declined to comment on the court case.
‘Everyone deserves privacy’
Rogers said she was in Flagstaff the day Sanchez approached the two homes. She said she recognized Sanchez in the doorbell photos sent to her by her husband.
It was at that point, Rogers testified, that she called Petersen and he advised her to get an injunction against harassment.
Petersen subsequently issued a statement confirming that advice and defending it.
“Everyone deserves privacy in their personal residences without worrying about reporters repeatedly showing up unannounced,’’ the Gilbert Republican said.
Rogers’ sprawling Legislative District 7 runs from Williams through part of Flagstaff, east to Snowflake and then south through Payson, Miami, Apache Junction to San Manuel.
In general, possession of multiple residences is neither a violation of state election laws nor a legal finding that a legislator does not live where stated. Instead, courts routinely rely on statements from lawmakers of their “intention.’’
Rogers, in filing her nomination papers as a candidate, said last year she had been a resident of the district where her mobile home is located for six years. A state constitutional provision says elected officials must be registered voters in the political division they represent.
Legal residence aside, the question of where a lawmaker resides has financial implications.
Under state law, lawmakers who live in Maricopa County are entitled to $35 a day for every day the Legislature is in session, including weekends and holidays.
But those from the other 14 counties get an allowance equal to what the federal General Services Administration lists as travel expenses for federal employees visiting Maricopa County. That is currently $151 a day for lodging with an additional $69 daily for meals and incidentals.
According to the Capitol Times, Rogers has been seeking reimbursement at the out-of-county rate.
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