A federal judge has ordered sanctions and fines against attorney Sidney Powell and other attorneys who filed lawsuits alleging fraud in Michigan's November election, knowing the allegations were false.
Judge Linda Parker said Powell's lawsuit relied on claims she and her colleagues knew were not backed by law nor evidence.
In addition to sanctions, the attorneys must pay the state and city of Detroit's legal fees, and they could face possible suspension or disbarment by the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission. Judge Parker also recommended her decision be sent to each state where these attorneys have been admitted to the bar for possible suspension or disbarment.
Among the lawyers named are Sidney Powell and Lin Wood, both allies of former President Donald Trump. Powell is licensed in Texas and Wood is licensed in Georgia.
The other named attorneys include Emily Newman (Virginia), Julia Haller (the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, and New Jersey), Brandon Johnson (the District of Columbia, New York, and Nevada), Scott Hagerstrom (Michigan), Howard Kleinhendler (New York and New Jersey), Gregory Rohl (Michigan), and Stefanie Lynn Junttila (Michigan).
The attorneys must also complete at least twelve hours of continuing legal education in the subjects of pleading standards and election law within six months.
Judge Parker said the attorneys had abused the court system with a lawsuit that challenged Michigan’s election results that certified Joe Biden as the winner. She said the lawsuit last November was a sham intended to deceive the court and the public.
“Despite the haze of confusion, commotion and chaos counsel intentionally attempted to create by filing this lawsuit, one thing is perfectly clear: Plaintiffs’ attorneys have scorned their oath, flouted the rules, and attempted to undermine the integrity of the judiciary along the way,” Parker said in the opening of a scathing 110-page opinion.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of six Republican voters who wanted Parker to decertify Michigan’s election results and impound voting machines. The judge declined in December, calling the request “stunning in its scope and breathtaking in its reach.”
Parker called the lawsuit a "historic and profound abuse of the judicial process."
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel was happy with the ruling.
“I’m pleased to see that the Court has ensured there is accountability for the attorneys who perpetuated meritless arguments in court," she said. "It has remained abundantly clear from the outset that this lawsuit aimed to do nothing more than undermine our democratic process. I appreciated Judge Parker’s thoroughness in the hearing last month, and I appreciate the unmistakable message she sends with this ruling — those who vow to uphold the Constitution must answer for abandoning that oath.”
