Pres. Trump’s lawyers filed dozens of what can only described as “frivolous” lawsuits. Yet, so far, no lawyer has been sanctioned. Most of us would expect some sort of sanction if we had filed a lawsuit completely lacking in evidence. But, in one of the lawsuits, Judge Boasberg did indicate he would consider sanctions. That lawsuit was filed seeking to block Congress from declaring Joe Biden the duly elected President. The suit asked that various federal statutes regarding the selection of electors be declared unconstitutional. It was filed in Washington, D.C. on behalf of voters in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Arizona.
The court noted the plaintiffs all lacked standing. For some of the state defendants, it was filed in the wrong court. He said the lawsuit would be amusing if it did not seek to disenfranchise millions of voters. Their allegations amounted to nothing more than a generalized grievance that did not affect the plaintiffs individually. That is a clear and long rejected basis for standing. The lawyers had to know better. Even if they did not know better, any lawsuit that seeks such draconian remedies requires far stronger evidence.
But, worse, the plaintiffs never tried to serve the lawsuit on any of the named defendants. Judge Boasberg had issued a reminder that service had not yet been attempted. But, the plaintiffs did not respond. It appeared to the Judge that{ Pres. Trump filed the lawsuit simply to file the lawsuit. Courts, said the judge, “are not instruments through which parties engage in such gamesmanship or symbolic political gestures.” See ABA Bar Journal report. The judge said he would consider referring the matter to the appropriate bar grievance committee.
This is as clear a case of frivolous lawsuits as it gets. This lawsuit exhibits a remarkable level of cynicism about the judicial system.