MICHIGAN (ECWd) –
In a 110-page Order, in King v Whitmer, the United States District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan issued a rare Rule 11 sanction against the attorneys prosecuting this case.
The attorneys sanctioned:
- (i) Sidney Powell – Texas;
- (ii) L. Lin Wood – Georgia;
- (iii) Emily Newman – Virginia;
- (iv) Julia Z. Haller – the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York and New Jersey;
- (v) Brandon Johnson – the District of Columbia, New York, and Nevada;
- (vi) Scott Hagerstrom – Michigan;
- (vii) Howard Kleinhendler – New York and New Jersey;
- (viii) Gregory Rohl – Michigan; and
- (iv) Stefanie Lynn Junttila – Michigan
The first paragraph sets the tone of the Order:
“This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process. It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election. It is another to take on the charge of deceiving a federal court and the American people into believing that rights were infringed, without regard to whether any laws or rights were in fact violated. This is what happened here.”
The Sanctions include:
- That Plaintiff’s attorneys pay the fees and costs incurred by the State Defendants and the City of Detroit
- That Plaintiff’s attorneys shall complete at least 12 hours of continuing legal education in the subject of pleading standards and election law within six months of this decision. Courses must be offered by a non-partisan organization and must be paid for at counsel’s expense
- That the Clerk of the Court shall send a copy of this decision to the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission and the appropriate disciplinary authorities for each attorney, referring the matter for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment: (i) Sidney Powell – Texas; (ii) L. Lin Wood – Georgia; (iii) Emily Newman – Virginia; (iv) Julia Z. Haller – the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York and New Jersey; (v) Brandon Johnson – the District of Columbia, New York, and Nevada; (vi) Scott Hagerstrom – Michigan; (vii) Howard Kleinhendler – New York and New Jersey; (viii) Gregory Rohl – Michigan; and (iv) Stefanie Lynn Junttila – Michigan
From the Order:
“This lawsuit should never have been filed. The State Defendants and the Intervenor-Defendants should never have had to defend it. If Plaintiffs’ attorneys are not ordered to reimburse the State Defendants and the City for the reasonable fees and costs incurred to defend this action, counsel will not be deterred from continuing to abuse the judicial system to publicize their narrative. Moreover, this Court has found that Plaintiffs’ counsel initiated this litigation for an improper purpose, rendering this the “unusual circumstance” in which awarding attorneys’ fees is warranted.”
“…the conduct of Plaintiffs’ counsel, which also constituted violations of the Michigan Rules of Professional Conduct, see, e.g., MRPC 3.1 and 3.3, calls into question their fitness to practice law. This warrants a referral for investigation and possible suspension or disbarment to the appropriate disciplinary authority for every state bar and federal court in which each attorney is admitted…“
“. . . the Court concludes that Plaintiffs’ counsel filed this lawsuit in bad faith and for an improper purpose…”
It is unknown at this time if any appeal is in the works.
Read the Sanctions Order below, or download it (here):
gov.uscourts.mied.350905.172.0_3
