Politics · October 13, 2026
Supreme Court refuses to toss out fees for lawyers who sought hand count in Arizona election
The U.S. Supreme Court took action on two separate legal matters involving the executive and judicial branches. First, the Court declined to review a lower-court ruling that ordered lawyers for former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake to pay $122,000 in sanctions for making 'false and misleading' claims in a 2022 lawsuit seeking a hand-count of ballots. Separately, the Court issued a stay allowing the Trump administration to continue its 'third-country' deportation policy while litigation proceeds, despite challenges from civil rights groups and lower courts. The Court is also set to hear arguments regarding a new executive order that bans federal funding for gender-affirming medical care for incarcerated individuals, a case that could have broader implications for Eighth Amendment protections.
Only one outlet has covered this so far. CadNews compares coverage once more outlets report it.
Read the original coverage
- ABC NewsCenter-left
Supreme Court refuses to toss out fees for lawyers who sought hand count in Arizona election
Read at ABC News ↗
Reported across the spectrum
- The Supreme Court refused to toss out $122,000 in legal fees sanctioned against Kari Lake's attorneys.
- The sanctions were based on false and misleading statements regarding the 2022 Arizona election.
- The Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to continue third-country deportations while legal battles proceed.
- Justice Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson dissented from the decision to stay the lower court's ruling on deportations.
Reported by only some outlets
- Maricopa County alleged Lake's lawyers disregarded letters identifying false allegations before filing.
- Jamaica signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June to accept up to 25 deportees every two weeks.
- The Trump administration issued an executive order banning federal funds for gender-affirming care in prisons on the first day of his second term.
- Lower courts previously ruled the Trump administration provided 'zero evidence' for safety concerns regarding transgender healthcare in prisons.
Left-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
Vox focuses heavily on the potential for the Supreme Court to 'make America’s prisons much crueler' and uses the transgender healthcare case to warn of a 'wholesale rewrite' of the Eighth Amendment that could strip all prisoners of medical rights.
Right-leaning outlets tend to emphasize…
Fox News emphasizes the administration's 'interim Supreme Court victory' regarding deportations and frames the third-country policy as a tool for migrants who claim their home countries are too dangerous, while highlighting that no criminals will transit through Jamaica.
Centrist outlets tend to focus on…
ABC News provides a straightforward account of the Kari Lake sanctions, focusing on the legal procedural history and the specific findings of 'reckless' and 'frivolous' conduct by the attorneys.
Where coverage diverges
Coverage diverges along left/right lines — see Framing tab for specifics.
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