Oh, this is beautiful. I know I have been on a discipline roll today, but this is too good to pass up. There has been a bit of discipline meted out down south in Georgia. From the Columbus (Georgia) Ledger Enquirer:
In an order today, California attorney Orly Taitz has been sanctioned $20,000 by U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land — double the amount he said he was considering.
“While the Court derives no pleasure from its imposition of sanctions upon counsel Orly Taitz, it likewise has no reservations about the necessity of doing so,” Land states. “A clearer case could not exist; a weaker message would not suffice.”
Land gave Taitz two weeks from Sept. 18 to show cause why he should not sanction her for filing a motion for emergency stay in a lawsuit he called “frivolous.” On the deadline, Taitz filed a motion for an extension of time.
When a lawyer files complaints and motions without a reasonable basis for believing that they are supported by existing law or a modification or extension of existing law, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law,” Land writes. “When a lawyer uses the courts as a platform for a political agenda disconnected from any legitimate legal cause of action, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer personally attacks opposing parties and disrespects the integrity of the judiciary, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer recklessly accuses a judge of violating the judicial code of conduct with no supporting evidence beyond her dissatisfaction with the judge’s rulings, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer abuses her privilege to practice law, that lawyer ceases to advance her cause or the ends of justice.
Regrettablly, the conduct of counsel Orly Taitz has crossed these lines, and Ms. Taitz must be sanctioned for her misconduct.
Let’s hope Orly has to show her birth certificate to pay off her sanction (or get into the clink if she refuses to pay). If you want to read the full 43 page Order by Judge Land, here it is; it is a thing of beauty.
The conduct of Orly Taitz was horrendous and unquestionably deserved the stiff sanction handed down by Judge Land. What I am really waiting for, however, is an order like this lodged against the Department of Justice. Of course, the DOJ was headed to exactly such a thing in Horn v. Huddle, but the DOJ suddenly decided to settle the matter.
UPDATE: Oh my, lookee here; from Justin Elliott at TPM:
Reached on her cell phone by TPMmuckraker and informed of the $20,000 fine imposed on her by a federal judge this morning, Birther attorney Orly Taitz responded, first, with laughter.
“So he didn’t recuse himself?” Taitz asked, after letting out an extended, nervous-sounding chuckle.
Still defiant after months of legal wrangling and, by our count, three written denunciations by federal district court Judge Clay Land, Taitz said she had absolutely no plans to pay the $20,000 fine.
“Are you kidding? Of course not,” she said, asked whether she planned to send a check. “This is a form of intimidation.”
Instead, she plans to file yet another written response (though it’s unclear whether the court will even accept one).
This could turn out to be a lot of fun. I don’t see the 11th Circuit disturbing Land’s order here since it is only financial.