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MARK BRNOVICH 

ATTORNEY GENERAL

Drew C. Ensign (No. 25463) 

Oramel H. (O.H.) Skinner (No. 32891) 

Brunn (Beau) W. Roysden III (No. 28698) 

Evan G. Daniels (No. 30624) 

Aaron Duell (No. 33450) 

 Assistant Attorneys General 

2005 N. Central Avenue 

Phoenix, Arizona 85004 

Telephone: (602) 542-5200 

Drew.Ensign@azag.gov 

Attorneys for Defendant Mark Brnovich 

in his official capacity as Attorney General 

and Intervenor-Defendant State of Arizona 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 

Mikkel Jordahl; Mikkel (Mik) Jordahl, 

P.C., 

Plaintiffs, 

vs. 

Mark Brnovich, Arizona Attorney 

General; Jim Driscoll, Coconino County 

Sheriff; Matt Ryan, Coconino County 

Board of Supervisors Chair; Lena 

Fowler, Coconino County Board of 

Supervisors Vice Chair; Elizabeth 

Archuleta Coconino County Board of 

Supervisors Member; Art Babbott, 

Coconino County Board of Supervisors 

Member; Jim Parks, Coconino County 

Board of Supervisors Member; Sarah 

Benatar, Coconino County Treasurer, all 

in their official capacities, 

Defendants, 

and 

State of Arizona, 

Intervenor-Defendant.

Case No: 3:17-cv-08263-PCT-DJH 

STATE’S NOTICE OF 

SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY 

 

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NOTICE OF SUPPLEMENTAL AUTHORITY 

Defendants Mark Brnovich and the State of Arizona (the “State”) respectfully 

submit this notice of supplemental authority regarding two developments that have 

occurred since oral argument was held on May 23, 2018: (1) release of an updated 

Arizona Agency Handbook that provides guidance regarding A.R.S. § 35-393 et seq. (the 

“Act”) and (2) voluntary dismissal pursuant to settlement of Koontz v. Watson, No. 17-

4099-DDC-KGS, 2018 WL 617894 (D. Kan. Jan. 30, 2018), a case on which Plaintiffs 

have placed extensive reliance. 

Agency Handbook. Under Arizona law, the Attorney General is required to 

“[c]ompile, publish and distribute to all state agencies, departments, boards, commissions 

and councils” an “Arizona agency handbook” “at least every ten years.” A.R.S. § 41-

192(A)(8). The Agency Handbook “sets forth and explains the major state laws that 

govern state agencies, including information on the laws relating [inter alia] to ... 

contracting with the government ... [and] discrimination[.]” Id. The Attorney General 

recently released the 2018 Edition of the Agency Handbook, which updates and replaces 

the prior 2014 Edition. The 2018 Edition includes many changes from the 2014 Edition. 

Pertinent here, the 2018 Edition adds a section (5.4.18) specifically addressing 

implementation and interpretation of the Act, which is attached as Exhibit A. The 

Agency Handbook provides interpretive guidance that closely tracks the interpretation of 

the Act offered by the State previously in this litigation. See Doc. 28 at 8-14, Doc. 46 at 

2-3. In particular, it offers guidance concerning what “company,” “affiliate,” and 

“boycott of Israel” mean for purposes of determining whether the Act applies. See Ex. A. 

The Agency Handbook’s guidance presents the formal legal opinion of the 

Attorney General, upon which agencies and political subdivisions may fairly rely absent 

adverse court precedent. Cf. Marsto's Inc. v. Roman Catholic Church of Phoenix, 132 

Ariz. 90, 94 (1982) (“We believe that [plaintiff] had the right to rely on the opinion of the 

Attorney General until the court spoke.”); City of Prescott v. Town of Chino Valley, 166 

Ariz. 480, 483 n.2 (1990) (treating Agency Handbook as legally equivalent to a formal 

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Attorney General opinion). In addition, “the reasoned opinion of a state attorney general 

should be accorded respectful consideration.” Ruiz v. Hull, 191 Ariz. 441, 449 ¶ 28 

(1998). 

Koontz Dismissal. Plaintiffs have placed enormous reliance on the District of 

Kansas’s issuance of a preliminary injunction in Koontz, citing it more than twenty times 

in their Reply brief. See Doc. 39 at 1, 4, 5, 7, 9, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22 n.8, 23 n.9, 27. Koontz 

has now been “dismissed with prejudice” and the “the Preliminary Injunction entered 

against defendant ... dissolved” pursuant to a settlement. See Koontz Doc. 33 at 1 (June 

29, 2018) (attached hereto as Exhibit B). 1

 

Respectfully submitted this 12th day of September, 2018. 

MARK BRNOVICH 

ATTORNEY GENERAL 

By: s/ Drew C. Ensign 

Drew C. Ensign (No. 25463) 

Oramel H. (O.H.) Skinner (No. 32891) 

Brunn (Beau) W. Roysden III (No. 28698) 

Evan G. Daniels (No. 030624) 

Aaron M. Duell (No. 033450) 

Attorneys for Defendant Mark Brnovich in his 

official capacity as Attorney General and 

Intervenor-Defendant State of Arizona 

 

1

 Moreover, Kansas’s law was amended to, inter alia, apply only to companies, rather 

than individuals (thus following the approach of Arizona’s present law, which similarly is 

limited to companies). See Smith, Sherman, Judge dismisses lawsuit over Israel boycott 

ban, orders state of Kansas to pay legal fees, 2018 WLNR 20009321 (June 30, 2018) 

(attached hereto as Exhibit C).

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

 I hereby certify that on this 12th day of September, 2018, I caused the foregoing 

document to be electronically transmitted to the Clerk’s Office using the CM/ECF 

System for Filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic Filing to the following 

CM/ECF registrants: 

Kathleen E. Brody 

Darrell L. Hill 

ACLU Foundation of Arizona 

3707 North 7th Street, Suite 235 

Phoenix, AZ 85014 

Telephone: (602) 650-1854 

kbrody@acluaz.org 

dhill@acluaz.org 

Brian Hauss 

Vera Eidelman 

Ben Wizner 

Speech, Privacy & Technology Project 

125 Broad Street, 18th Floor 

New York, NY 10004 

Telephone: (212) 549-2500 

bhauss@aclu.org 

veidelman@aclu.org 

bwizner@aclu.org 

ACLU Foundation 

 s/ Drew C. Ensign 

Attorneys for Defendant Mark Brnovich in his official capacity as Attorney General and 

Intervenor-Defendant State of Arizona

Case 3:17-cv-08263-DJH Document 61 Filed 09/12/18 Page 4 of 4