Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Judge Sanctions "Obama Birth Certificate" Lawyer

A Republican-appointed judge has sanctioned Orly Taitz, "birther movement" lawyer, 20,000 dollars. See opinion here. Apparently, Ms. Taitz clearly lacked standing to bring the motion and publicly criticized the court. At the same time, her motions may have produced a favorable result for her client--the military withdrew her client's deployment order, deeming him a distraction. Basically, because of Orly Taitz's frivolous motions, the officer does not have to go to Iraq or Afghanistan.

I've been sanctioned before, and so I generally disfavor sanctions. In this case, however, the judge warned the lawyer not to do something, and she went ahead and did it anyway. In addition, she compared herself with Thurgood Marshall and failed to comply with several procedural requirements. In the case where I was sanctioned, the federal judge--Samuel Conti--sanctioned me without a hearing and without any prior judicial warning. When I called to request a hearing, the court immediately moved the case file back to state court (opposing counsel had filed a motion to remand).

Even a lawyer like me, who generally favors pushing the envelope, has to agree that Orly Taitz got what she deserved.

Bonus: Ms. Taitz had a previous run-in with this judge. See here for details.

1 comment:

Paul said...

Was the $20K fine enough? Maybe when Taitz becomes a real lawyer she will appreciate what just happened. I wonder if she is a mail order bride, just like her law degree? She is perfect reporter material for “Fake News”, where unfounded rumors and innuendo reign supreme , unlike a our US courts of law, where you need to present facts.