SCOTUS Nixes Effort By 'Birther' Attorney Orly Taitz to Avoid $20K Fine
Fined $20,000 for pursuing what a federal judge in Georgia determined to be a frivolous claim that President Barack Obama is not a U.S. citizen and hence unqualified to serve in that office, so-called birther attorney Orly Taitz reportedly may have intended to seek a stay of the stunning financial penalty from one U.S. Supreme Court justice after another.
But the full court seemingly outmaneuvered her today, voting as a group to refuse her stay application without comment, according to SCOTUSblog.
After her initial application to stay the fine was denied by Justice Clarence Thomas, Taitz had then sought a stay from Justice Samuel Alito. However, rather than simply deny it himself, Alito passed it on to the full court.
Her efforts have sparked considerable interest in the contentious case, and various reports detail its twists and turns:
After accusing U.S. District Judge Clay Land of “treason” in a petition for rehearing of what he had already determined to be a frivolous filing, Taitz got socked with the $20,000 penalty, recounts the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
Then, in her stay application to the nation’s top court, Taitz referred to Land’s $20,000 fine order as “a legal ‘hit job,’ ” points out the Blog of Legal Times.
“Counsel’s pattern of conduct conclusively establishes that she did not mistakenly violate a provision of law. She knowingly violated Rule 11” of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure,” Land wrote earlier. “Her response to the Court’s show cause order is breathtaking in its arrogance and borders on delusional.”
Taitz sought a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court after the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected her effort to overturn the $20,000 fine.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Embattled Lawyer Seeks Judge’s Recusal, Cites Possible ‘Whisper’ By AG Holder”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Fined $20K for ‘Wild Accusations’ in Suit Over Obama Citizenship”
ABAJournal.com: “Still Contesting $20K Sanction, ‘Birther’ Attorney Orly Taitz Takes On the Supreme Court”
