On August 25, U.S. District Court Judge Linda V. Parker, an Obama appointee, sanctioned some attorneys who filed a challenge to the Michigan election returns of November 2020. The plaintiffs in that lawsuit included some Republican nominees for presidential elector from Michigan. They claimed, among other things, that Michigan vote-counting equipment “flipped” votes from former President Donald Trump to Democratic nominee Joe Biden. King v Whitmer, e.d., 2:20cv-13134.

The judge ordered the attorneys to attend some legal education classes; to pay the attorneys fees for the defendants; and that the bar associations of which the attorneys were members should be asked to examine their credentials. The 110-page opinion, near the beginning, discusses the connection between the free speech provision of the First Amendment, and legal ethics rules, and concludes that “free speech” does not totally protect statements made by attorneys in legal papers presented to courts. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for the link.