[rquoter]Judge throws out 'birther' complaint in Georgia, puts lawyer on notice Alan Riquelmy | The Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/v-print/story/75523.html last updated: September 16, 2009 01:56:28 PM U.S. District Court Judge Clay Land today tossed out a complaint by an Army captain fighting deployment to Iraq by questioning the legitimacy of President Barack Obama. Land also put attorney Orly Taitz, who represents Capt. Connie Rhodes and is a leader in the national "birther" movement, on notice by stating that she could face sanctions if she ever files a similar "frivolous" lawsuit in his court. "(Rhodes) has presented no credible evidence and has made no reliable factual allegations to support her unsubstantiated, conclusory allegations and conjecture that President Obama is ineligible to serve as president of the United States," Land states in his order. "Instead, she uses her complaint as a platform for spouting political rhetoric, such as her claims that the president is 'an illegal usurper, an unlawful pretender, [and] an unqualified imposter.'" Rhodes, who filed her complaint Sept. 4 in the Columbus Division of U.S. District Court, argued that some facts point to Obama not being naturalized or possibly an illegal immigrant. [/rquoter] Leaving aside the already ridiculous argument whether Obama is a natural born US citizen this is a ridiculous argument since the direct order to deploy has come down from a chain of command so even if the C-in-C was illegitimate the Captain's immediate commanders are. Also the deployment under has been legally authorized by an act of Congress. The Iraq Authorization of Military Force and is still in effect.
http://washingtonindependent.com/63558/orly-taitz-sanctioned-for-20000 [rquoter] Orly Taitz Sanctioned for $20,000 The “Birther queen” has been slapped with a five-figure fine for “wasting the judicial resources” of the Middle District of Georgia, where she’d filed one of her numerous lawsuits demanding that President Obama prove his citizenship before deploying soldiers to Iraq and Afghanistan. The judgment, which calls Taitz’s case and tactics “delusional”: <blockquote>Counsel Orly Taitz is hereby ordered to pay $20,000.00 to the United States, through the Middle District of Georgia Clerk’s Office, within thirty days of the date of this Order as a sanction for her misconduct in violation of Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. </blockquote> The entire document, and some key excerpts, after the jump. Judge Clay Land makes the toughest statement about Taitz’s antics here: <blockquote>The Court finds that counsel’s conduct was willful and not merely negligent. It demonstrates bad faith on her part. As an attorney, she is deemed to have known better. She owed a duty to follow the rules and to respect the Court. Counsel’s pattern of conduct conclusively establishes that she did not mistakenly violate a provision of law. She knowingly violated Rule 11. Her response to the Court’s show cause order is breathtaking in its arrogance and borders on delusional. She expresses no contrition or regret regarding her misconduct. To the contrary, she continues her baseless attacks on the Court. </blockquote> And here’s the tick-tock of Taitz’s appearance in court: <blockquote> Counsel’s frivolous and sanctionable conduct wasted the Defendants’ time and valuable judicial resources that could have been devoted to legitimate cases pending with the Court. When she filed the Rhodes case, counsel indicated that it was urgent that the matter be heard because her client was facing imminent deployment. The Court rearranged its schedule, took time to read the legal papers, and conducted preliminary research in preparation for the hearing. The Army had to activate its legal team on short notice, sending a Major from the Army Litigation Division in Washington, D.C. and a Captain from the CONUS Replacement Center at Ft. Benning. In addition, the Assistant U.S. Attorney had to accompany them. Like the Court, the government attorneys had to prepare in an expedited manner for the hearing. During the week preceding Captain Rhodes’s deployment, the Court was in the midst of a jury trial. Therefore, the Court had to alter the trial schedule to conduct the hearing during an extended lunch break, thus affecting other counsel and jurors. The Clerk’s Office was burdened by Ms. Taitz’s inability to follow the Court’s rules regarding pro hac vice admission and the Court’s rules for electronic filing. On five separate occasions in a short period, the Clerk’s Office personnel error-noticed counsel for her failure to follow simple rules. At the hearing, counsel failed to make coherent legal arguments but instead wasted the Court’s time with press conference sound bites and speeches. </blockquote> [/rquoter]
This was predictable. You can only waste the judicial resources of the United States for so long before the judge makes you pay for it. I am surprised it took this long.
I went and read her wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orly_Taitz She's even nuttier than I had imagined. I feel sorry for her poor husband and children.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20013836-504083.html Supreme Court to Orly Taitz: Pay Up for "Birther" Litigation WASHINGTON (CBS/AP) The Supreme Court has upheld a $20,000 fine against Orly Taitz, a leader in the "birther" movement that challenges President Barack Obama's citizenship. On Monday, the high court refused to block a federal judge's October 2009 ruling that required the California lawyer and dentist to pay the $20,000 fine for filing a "frivolous" litigation. The judge said Taitz attempted to misuse the federal courts to push a political agenda. Taitz sued in Georgia federal court on behalf of Army Capt. Connie Rhodes. Rhodes sought to avoid deployment to Iraq by claiming Obama wasn't born in the United States. Orly Taitz has claimed that Obama was born in Kenya, and hasn't produced a true copy of his birth certificate, according to The Joplin Globe. Justice Samuel Alito on Monday rejected Taitz's second request to block the sanctions. Justice Clarence Thomas had rejected the request earlier.
