Texas Judge Dismisses Professional Misconduct Lawsuit Against Sidney Powell
(Bloomberg) — A Texas judge has thrown out a professional misconduct lawsuit against attorney Sidney Powell, finding the State Bar of Texas’ disciplinary arm failed to present enough evidence that she violated ethics rules with her efforts to overturn the 2020 U.S. presidential election.[0]
Judge Andrea Bouressa, of Texas' 471st District Court, stated that the commission had not succeeded in showing that Powell had broken the Texas' attorney code of conduct. The judge also criticized the commission for not properly labeling its exhibits in its filing, limiting her ability to consider only two of the exhibits that had been filed.[1]
On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Republican appointee, Bouressa, released a four-page order concluding that the commission had not met its burden on multiple claims they had made against Powell and had ignored Powell's rebuttals to other claims.
The Texas Bar's Disciplinary Commission petitioned the state court in Texas (where the ex-Trump attorney is licensed) on March 1st, seeking to have her found in violation of the state's professional code for attorneys. This initiated the disciplinary proceedings.[2]
CNN had reported that people who wanted disciplinary responses against Trump's legal team viewed their post-election conduct as a breach of ethical boundaries and as conduct that exceeded the usual limits of legal challenges to election practices.[1]
After the 2020 presidential election, Powell, a staunch supporter of then-President Donald Trump, spearheaded several unsuccessful attempts at challenging President Joe Biden's victories in key states.[3] She propagated untruthful conspiracy theories implying that there was widespread election fraud, asserting that the software used in voting machines had been engineered to switch votes from Trump to Biden and had its roots in electoral manipulation in Venezuela.[3]
In March of last year, a case was brought before state district court in Dallas County by the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline against Powell, alleging professional misconduct. Last summer, Judge Andrea Bouressa ruled against Powell's motion to dismiss the case, thus allowing bar regulators to win an earlier round.[3]
The disciplinary commission's spokesperson declined to comment on the possibility of appealing the dismissal order.[2] CNN's inquiry was not answered by the attorney who had been representing Powell in the disciplinary proceedings.[1]
In the matter of Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Sidney Powell, the case is before the Dallas County District Court, DC-22-02562.
0. “Powell Beats Disciplinary Suit Over 2020 Election Litigation” Law360, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.law360.com/legalethics/articles/1579507/powell-beats-disciplinary-suit-over-2020-election-litigation
1. “Judge tosses out disciplinary action against Sidney Powell for work on Trump election reversal bid” CNN, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/politics/sidney-powell-disciplinary-action-tossed/index.html
2. “Judge tosses out disciplinary action against Sidney Powell for work on Trump election reversal bid” WICZ, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.wicz.com/story/48440361/judge-tosses-out-disciplinary-action-against-sidney-powell-for-work-on-trump-election-reversal-bid
3. “Trump 2020 Fraud Backer Sidney Powell's Texas Ethics Case Tossed” Yahoo News Canada, 23 Feb. 2023, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-2020-fraud-backer-sidney-213507722.html
