March 14 (Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday overturned a judge’s sanction against retired Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz over his work on a lawsuit by failed Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake.
Dershowitz and two other lawyers were fined $122,200 in 2023 for advancing frivolous claims in the unsuccessful case, which challenged the use of electronic voting machines in Arizona’s 2022 midterm elections. Dershowitz had argued that he played only a nominal part in Lake’s lawsuit in an “of counsel” role.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals held for the first time in Friday’s 2-1 decision, opens new tab that “of counsel” lawyers can be sanctioned for signing court pleadings that are frivolous and lack factual basis. But the court said it would not apply that standard retroactively to Dershowitz.
Dershowitz, a prominent legal scholar who helped defend football star O.J. Simpson against murder charges and represented U.S. President Donald Trump in his 2020 impeachment trial, said in his appeal that he performed only about three hours of work on the lawsuit brought by Lake and former Arizona state representative Mark Finchem.
While the panel reversed Dershowitz’s sanction, it rejected his arguments that he did not play a significant role in the case.
“Indeed, when a widely known and respected lawyer in Dershowitz’s position signs onto a pleading, it can have an impact on the decision-maker and that means counsel’s attestation is all the more important,” the opinion said. “Dershowitz could have easily discovered the faults in plaintiffs’ pleadings if he had conducted any investigation at all.”
Dershowitz lawyer Dennis Wilenchik said he was “OK” with the decision, adding that he disagreed with some of the reasoning. He said Dershowitz did nothing wrong and was “completely vindicated.”
U.S. District Judge John Tuchi in Phoenix sanctioned Dershowitz in 2023 alongside the rest of Lake and Finchem’s legal team, Andrew Parker of Parker Daniels Kibort and Kurt Olsen of the Olsen Law Firm. Tuchi said Dershowitz was only responsible for 10% of the $122,200 sanction.
The 9th Circuit panel on Friday upheld the sanctions order against Parker and Olsen in a separate 2-1 ruling, opens new tab.
Lake, a former television news anchor, and Finchem sued former Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs and officials in Maricopa and Pima counties in April 2022, in a bid to change the state and counties’ voting procedures. Lake and Finchem had claimed that the electronic voting machines were “untested and verified” and could not be trusted.
Tuchi dismissed Lake’s lawsuit in August 2022. The Maricopa County officials named as defendants sought sanctions against Lake for trying to sow doubts about the then-upcoming 2022 elections. Lake, a Republican, lost the governor’s race to Democrat Hobbs.
Emily Craiger, an attorney for the Maricopa County officials, declined to comment on Friday.
The case is Kari Lake, et al., v. Bill Gates, et al., 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-16023.
For Dershowitz: Dennis Wilenchik of Wilenchik & Bartness
For defendants: Emily Craiger of The Burgess Law Group
Reporting by David Thomas