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Trouble for the Trump lawyers

17 September 2021 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7948 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Lawyers for Trump abused the judicial process: Michael Zander heralds the words that capture a memorable judgment
  • In August, US District Judge Linda Parker ruled against lawyers for former president Donald Trump for bringing a case that sought to overturn his clear election defeat last November in Michigan.

‘This lawsuit represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process’ were the first words of US District Judge Linda Parker’s 110-page opinion in proceedings successfully brought by the governor of Michigan and the city of Detroit against nine lawyers for the former President Trump. They sought sanctions and costs against the lawyers for bringing a case that sought to overturn Trump’s clear election defeat last November in Michigan.

The judge referred the nine senior lawyers to their respective Bar Associations for potential disbarment, (unusually) ordered them to pay the state and the city’s costs—and, for good measure, required that they undergo 12 hours of legal education on pleading and election law. Her careful and impressive judgment looks appeal-proof.

The judgment

Her

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NEWS
Tech companies will be legally required to prevent material that encourages or assists serious self-harm appearing on their platforms, under Online Safety Act 2023 regulations due to come into force in the autumn
Commercial leasehold, the defence of insanity and ‘consent’ in the criminal law are among the next tranche of projects for the Law Commission
The Bar has a culture of ‘impunity’ and ‘collusive bystanding’ in which making a complaint is deemed career-ending due to a ‘cohort of untouchables’ at the top, Baroness Harriet Harman KC has found
Lawyers have broadly welcomed plans to electronically tag up to 22,000 more offenders, scrap most prison terms below a year and make prisoners ‘earn’ early release
David Lammy, Ellie Reeves and Baroness Levitt have taken up office at the Ministry of Justice, following the cabinet reshuffle
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