Texas Judge Dismisses Disciplinary Case Against Sidney Powell

On Thursday, a Texas judge threw out a disciplinary case against Sidney Powell, an attorney who sought to overturn the 2020 US presidential election for former President Donald Trump, finding that the State Bar of Texas' Commission for Lawyer Discipline failed to present sufficient evidence to support their claims.^[0] Judge Andrea Bouressa, a Republican appointee of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, ruled that the commission had not met its burden in proving that Powell had violated the state's attorney code of conduct.

The disciplinary proceedings, which had the potential to lead to Powell's disbarment, began in March 2021 after the Texas Bar's disciplinary commission issued a petition to the court. The commission had accused Powell of professional misconduct for filing frivolous post-election lawsuits.^[1]

However, in her four-page order, Bouressa found that the commission had not met its burden on several claims against Powell and failed to respond to her challenges to others. It is possible that the dismissal order could be appealed, but a spokesperson for the disciplinary commission declined to comment and the attorney who represented Powell in the disciplinary proceedings did not respond to CNN's inquiry.^[2]

The disciplinary proceedings against Powell unfolded in a state court in Texas, where she is licensed, after a March 1 petition from the Texas Bar’s disciplinary commission asked the court to find her in violation of the professional code for attorneys in the state.

CNN has reported that some have argued that the legal allies of Donald Trump have engaged in unethical and unprofessional behavior following the election, which have gone beyond the usual bounds of contesting election procedures.^[3] Powell, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump following the 2020 presidential election, led a series of unsuccessful legal efforts to contest President Joe Biden’s wins in battleground states.^[1] She disseminated inaccurate conspiracy theories claiming that there was widespread voting fraud, claiming that software for voting machines had changed ballots for Trump to Biden, supposedly stemming from fraudulent elections in Venezuela.^[1]

Last March, the Texas Commission for Lawyer Discipline initiated a case against Powell in state district court in Dallas County, alleging her of professional misconduct. Bar regulators won an earlier round, with Judge Bouressa denying Powell’s motion to dismiss the case last summer.^[1] Commission for Lawyer Discipline v. Sidney Powell is the case name in the Dallas County District Court, with the case number being DC-22-02562.^[1]

0. “Sidney Powell Won’t Be Disbarred, Court Rules—But These Trump Lawyers Are Still Being Punished” Forbes, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2023/02/24/sidney-powell-wont-be-disbarred-court-rules-but-these-trump-lawyers-are-still-being-punished/

1. “Trump 2020 Fraud Backer Sidney Powell's Texas Ethics Case Tossed” Yahoo News Canada, 23 Feb. 2023, https://ca.news.yahoo.com/trump-2020-fraud-backer-sidney-213507722.html

2. “Judge tosses out disciplinary action against Sidney Powell for work on Trump election reversal bid” WICZ, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.wicz.com/story/48440361/judge-tosses-out-disciplinary-action-against-sidney-powell-for-work-on-trump-election-reversal-bid

3. “Judge tosses out disciplinary action against Sidney Powell for work on Trump election reversal bid” CNN, 24 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/23/politics/sidney-powell-disciplinary-action-tossed/index.html