The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has scheduled a December 11 hearing for Assessor Paul D. Petersen to appeal his suspension amid human smuggling and other charges. Lawyers for Petersen say the suspension last month was illegal.
They say they don’t expect the county supervisors will change their minds, but they must go through the formal appeal before it before filing a lawsuit seeking to reinstate the Republican assessor.
Prosecutors in three states say Petersen brought pregnant women from the Marshall Islands to the United States and paid them to give up their babies for adoption.
Petersen has pleaded not guilty.
The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors last month declared that Petersen had neglected his duties and suspended him without pay for 120 days.
