A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that Sidney Powell and several other lawyers who unsuccessfully sued to block President Joe Biden’s 2020 electoral win in Michigan must comply with nonmonetary sanctions, including additional legal education.
A group of six attorneys who backed former President Donald Trump had requested the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit on Feb. 14 to pause enforcement of a Detroit-based federal judge’s sanctions determination ahead of a Friday deadline.
A three-judge appellate panel critiqued Powell and the other attorneys’ decision for failure to seek relief directly from U.S. District Judge Linda Parker, who imposed the penalties in August, and for slow-walking their filing for a 6th Circuit motion.
SIDNEY POWELL ASKS JUDGE WHO DEPICTED TEAM AS ‘DANGEROUS LUNATICS’ TO REVERSE SANCTION
“They waited more than two months to seek a stay, knowing the February 25 deadline was imminent. The district court clerk has already referred the matter to the Attorneys’ relevant disciplinary authorities,” the panel wrote in court documents.
The attorneys were ordered to complete at least 12 hours of legal education as a consequence of filing a lawsuit targeting Michigan’s voting results, with Parker describing the action as “a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process.”
Lawyers involved were also ordered to pay $175,000 in legal fees, with costs divided equally among nine sanctioned attorneys, who included Powell and Lin Wood. Parker allowed a pause on the enforcement of payments while appeals are pending.
Powell and her co-counsel previously argued that the requirement to undergo a “nonpartisan” legal education violated the First Amendment and that the district court was trying “to make a political statement at [their] expense” with the order.
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Wood and two other sanctioned attorneys were not parties regarding the matter ruled on by the 6th Circuit.
The Washington Examiner contacted Powell but did not receive a response at press time.
