Topline
The Supreme Court declined to take up an appeal from far-right attorney Sidney Powell and her co-counsel Tuesday that challenged their sanctions for trying to overturn the 2020 election, leaving the Trump-allied attorneys on the hook for more than $150,000 for bringing a lawsuit that a federal judge called “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”
Attorney Sidney Powell speaks during a rally on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2020, in Alpharetta, Georgia.
Key Facts
Powell and her co-counsel, including far-right attorney Lin Wood, were sanctioned in Michigan after bringing a lawsuit after the 2020 election that alleged fraud, with U.S. District Judge Linda Parker ruling in Aug. 2021 the suit was not backed by evidence and was instead based on “speculation, conjecture, and unwarranted suspicion.”
Parker ordered the attorneys to pay more than $175,000 in sanctions to the state of Michigan and city of Detroit, but a federal appeals court slightly lowered that amount to $152,450, with $132,810.62 going to Detroit and $19,639.75 going to the state defendants.
The Supreme Court denied the case Tuesday without any comment.
The appeals court’s order affirming the sanctions was put on hold while the attorneys went to the Supreme Court, so the justices’ ruling Tuesday means the order will now take effect.
Powell and her co-counsel got a win in court Tuesday, however, as the Supreme Court also rejected an appeal by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers of a court ruling that refused to impose sanctions on Powell and her co-counsel for an election lawsuit brought in that state.
Powell told Forbes she is “very disappointed” the court didn’t take up the Michigan case “to resolve multiple circuit splits” and claimed the ruling “is allowing a dangerous precedent to stand that puts at risk every lawyer who represents an unpopular cause or client,” calling it a “sad day for what if anything remains of the Rule of Law.”
Crucial Quote
“It is one thing to take on the charge of vindicating rights associated with an allegedly fraudulent election,” Parker wrote in her ruling ordering sanctions. “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.”
Chief Critic
Letting the sanctions ruling stand “will make it more difficult for individuals to obtain representation, and it is causing a pervasive ‘chilling’ effect on our First Amendment right to petition the government for redress of grievances,” Powell told Forbes in a statement Tuesday. “At bottom, it will make it far more difficult —primarily for conservatives— to find legal counsel for any fight—and especially an election challenge. And sadly, that is exactly what the Left wants. They don’t want lawyers to be able to fight for you—if you disagree with them.”
What To Watch For
Powell and her co-counsel could still face more punishments for bringing the failed Michigan lawsuit, as the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission has filed a complaint against the attorneys that a disciplinary board refused to throw out in December. The attorneys could face being barred from practicing law in Michigan, reprimanded or put on probation, depending on how the grievance board rules. A separate effort to punish Powell in Texas failed but is now being appealed, and an effort by the Georgia State Bar to bring penalties against Wood ended when he retired.
Key Background
Powell spearheaded four lawsuits in battleground states in the aftermath of the 2020 election seeking to overturn President Joe Biden’s wins—dubbing her effort “releasing the ‘Kraken’”—all of which failed in court. The effort was part of a broader strategy by former President Donald Trump and his allies to challenge the election results in court, which led to dozens of losses, and Powell is one of a number of Trump-allied attorneys who has since faced consequences for their post-election efforts. In addition to the Michigan sanctions and attempt to disbar her in Texas, Powell was also among the Trump allies charged in Fulton County, Georgia, for their efforts to overturn the election, which District Attorney Fani Willis alleges was a criminal racketeering conspiracy. Powell is one of four defendants who has so far accepted a plea deal in the case, pleading guilty in October to six misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit intentional interference with performance of election duties. She was sentenced to six years of probation, a $6,000 fine and $2,700 in restitution. The attorney also still faces two defamation lawsuits brought by voting companies Dominion Voting Systems and Smartmatic for spreading false conspiracy theories tied to their machines, which remain pending.
