U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper this week admonished attorney Sidney Powell after she filed a motion seeking to undo a win for President-elect Joe Biden in Wisconsin.
In her court order, Pepper pointed out numerous deficiencies with Powell's initial motion.
"There was no indication that the plaintiffs gave notice to the adverse parties of the morning’s motion, there was no affidavit filed with the motion, the complaint is not verified and there was no certification from counsel about the efforts made to give notice to the adverse parties or why notice should not be required," Pepper wrote.
The judge said that a second motion from Powell indicated that the first motion was filed accidentally.
"This motion indicates that the earlier motion was an inadvertently filed draft and acknowledges that the referenced proposed order had not been attached," Pepper explained.
The judge added: "Because the afternoon motion indicates that the plaintiffs 'will' provide electronic notice to the adverse parties, the court does not know whether the plaintiffs have yet provided notice to the adverse parties or when they will do so. Until the plaintiffs notify the court that they have provided notice to the adverse parties, the court will not take any action because the motion does not comply with the requirements of Rule 65(b)."
Reuters crime and justice reporter Brad Heath commented on what he called an "amazing pattern" of mistakes by Powell's team.
"Just an amazing pattern of lawyers showing up with what they say are the most important cases ever filed and botching the basics," Heath tweeted on Wednesday. "Even the President's lawyers screwed up the everyday rules for suing people."
"These are the mistakes you see when prisoners represent themselves," the reporter added.
Just an amazing pattern of lawyers showing up with what they say are the most important cases ever filed and botchi… https://t.co/CbAbpPMpbI— Brad Heath (@Brad Heath) 1606926270.0
