Still Contesting $20K Sanction, 'Birther' Attorney Orly Taitz Takes On the Supreme Court
Sanctioned $20,000 by a federal district judge in Georgia for making “wild accusations” in a “frivolous” suit questioning whether President Barack Obama is an American citizen, so-called birther attorney Orly Taitz is now focusing her attention on the U.S. Supreme Court.
Fighting the $20,000 penalty, she lost an appeal to the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and then sought a stay from Justice Clarence Thomas to no avail. So now she is trying again, applying for a stay this week from Justice Samuel Alito, reports the Ledger-Enquirer.
Her effort is problematic on at least two fronts, legal observers say:
First, she should have filed a writ of certiorari with the high court, seeking to appeal the fine. “Stays are for people condemned to death [who] are on the gurney,” says attorney Bill Mason of Columbus.
Second, another Columbus attorney, Frank Martin, questions Taitz’s claim that it is appropriate to go to justice after justice with the same stay request, if it is denied. Taitz is, he says, trying the patience of the Supreme Court with this tactic.
