Sanctions levied against Sidney Powell and six other attorneys for spreading false claims while litigating the results of Michigan’s 2020 general election will stand.
That’s after the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, without comment, rejected appeals by the group, all of whom represented former President Donald Trump’s unsuccessful attempts to overturn President Joe Biden’s more than 154,000 vote margin of victory in Michigan in 2020.
The attorneys argued the sanctions would “chill legitimate election challenges,” while also claiming Democrats were trying to “marginalize political opponents and destroy their counsel.”
The sanctions were ordered in August 2021 by U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Judge Linda Parker. In her 110-page opinion granting the sanctions, Parker wrote that the lawsuit “represents a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process” and “should never have been filed.”
“Sanctions are required to deter the filing of future frivolous lawsuits designed primarily to spread the narrative that our election processes are rigged and our democratic institutions cannot be trusted,” the opinion read.
Her ruling was mostly upheld last year by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court was the last stop for Powell, who is from Texas, along with Lin Wood of Georgia, who filed a separate appeal that was also rejected.
The five other attorneys were Julia Z. Haller and Brandon Johnson of Washington D.C., and three lawyers from Michigan; Scott Hagerstrom, Howard Kleinhendler and Gregory Rohl.
Altogether, Parker levied $175,000 in sanctions against the attorneys for submitting court documents that failed to meet the appropriate legal standard as they were based on “theories, conjecture, and speculation,” although that amount was later lowered to just over $150,000 to cover the legal fees involved in defending against the lawsuits. The City of Detroit will receive the lion’s share of that; $132,810.62, while the State of Michigan will receive $19,639.75.
Parker also ordered the lawyers to undergo 12 hours of continuing legal education.
Powell was also charged in Georgia for conspiring to interfere with the 2020 election in Fulton County. She pleaded guilty last October to six misdemeanor charges, one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin for her trial there.
As part of the plea deal, Powell was sentenced to six years of probation for conspiring to interfere with the performance of election duties for orchestrating a Coffee County elections system breach following the 2020 presidential election.
This story was published earlier by the Michigan Advance, an affiliate of the nonprofit States Newsroom network, which includes the Florida Phoenix.
Seven Michigan high school marching bands are competing this weekend at the Bands of America grand nationals competition.
The competition is held each year in Indianapolis, Ind., at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.
More than 100 high school marching bands will compete Thursday and Friday in the preliminary round of competition, then the top 32 bands will move on to the semifinal round on Saturday.
Only the top 12 bands will get the chance to perform their competition shows one last time Saturday night in the finals. Members of all 12 bands that make finals will receive medals for their accomplishments. The prize for the best band in the nation is a coveted eagle-shaped trophy.
On Thursday, three Michigan bands were scheduled to take the field throughout the day, including Huron Valley’s band at 9:45 a.m., Mt. Pleasant at 4:45 p.m. and Tri County at 8:30 p.m.
Friday, four more Michigan bands will perform in preliminary competition. Those ensembles are back-to-back state champions Walled Lake at 1:15 p.m., Rockford at 3 p.m., state champion Jenison at 4:30 p.m. and Plymouth-Canton at 6 p.m.
Additionally, the Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band will be performing in exhibition at the competition at 8:45 p.m. Friday night. The Spartan Marching Band will be performing a show of popular Broadway hits.
The Michigan high school bands will be competing against marching bands from states including Texas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, and, for only the second time ever, Alaska.
Marching bands will be judged on their music, their marching, their visual storytelling and more. Each band has been working since the early summer to perfect their 8-12 minute show, often featuring choreography, complex themes, props, costume changes and more.
To watch a livestream of the Bands of America Grand Nationals competition, visit the event website here. It is a paid livestream, with costs depending on which day and round of competition. To watch Thursday or Friday prelims, it is $20 per day. It costs $27 to watch semifinals on Saturday and another $32 to watch finals. To watch all rounds of competition, viewers can buy a $68 package.
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Washtenaw County residents protest Michigan Medicine’s overhaul on gender-affirming care
ANN ARBOR, MI — JJ McKillop, leader of the LGBTQ+ teenage group True Hope, was willing to bear about 45-degree temperatures Wednesday in Ann Arbor to protest her alma mater.
McKillop, a parent of a transgender child and 1994 graduate of the University of Michigan, said she is “ashamed” by Michigan Medicine’s August decision to end gender-affirming care for minors.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Frances Mauro Masters watched as a Rosie the Riveter statue was unveiled on Tuesday in Royal Oak, Michigan. The 103-year-old was the inspiration for the newest addition at the Michigan WW2 Legacy Memorial.
The city of Royal Oak shared a video of the unveiling, with Masters standing beside it. According to the city, Masters worked at the Willow Run bomber plant in Ypsilanti during World War II.
The statue was created by sculptor Oleg Kedria, who also created a statue that was installed at the memorial in 2023. That statue depicted a soldier reading a letter.
John Marten, board president of the WW2 Legacy Memorial, said the Rosie the Riveter statue is part of an expansion of the memorial that included an expanded Walk of Honor, which includes bricks with the names of people who had a role in World War II.
“Rosie represents the significant contribution of home front women to the Arsenal of Democracy, who kept production lines rolling. We are especially honored that 103-year-old Frances Mauro Masters, a riveter from the Ford Willow Run WWII bomber plant in Ypsilanti, is the inspiration for the face of the statue,” Maten in September.
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