A team of pro-Donald Trump lawyers and their attorneys argued before an appeals court panel Thursday that they should not have to pay sanctions imposed by a federal judge for a lawsuit that sought to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Michigan.
In a hearing that lasted more than two hours, a three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit focused their questions on whether some of the sanctioned attorneys should be penalized based on their level of involvement in the case and the circumstances that permit lawyers to file lawsuits alleging election fraud without facing the possibility of sanctions.
The lawsuit, filed in 2020, leveled false allegations of election fraud and misconduct and relied on flawed affidavits. In rulings issued last year, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker ordered the nine attorneys involved in the lawsuit to pay more than $175,000 in legal fees incurred by Detroit and others that defended against the lawsuit, complete a dozen hours of continuing legal education and have the matter referred to attorney disciplinary boards that could pursue investigations to disbar the attorneys.
Parker wrote in her opinion that "this case was never about fraud — it was about undermining the people’s faith in our democracy and debasing the judicial process to do so." All nine sanctioned attorneys appeared to comply with the legal coursework requirement but have appealed the payments Parker ordered.
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