Texas Appeals Court Rules in Favor of Sidney Powell in Attorney Discipline Case

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An appeals court in Texas has delivered a significant victory to attorney Sidney Powell, upholding a state court judge’s decision to dismiss an attorney discipline petition against her related to her involvement in former President Donald Trump’s efforts to reverse the 2020 election results.

The ruling, issued last week, affirms Powell’s ability to fend off professional misconduct allegations that have been levied against other attorneys associated with Trump’s election challenges.

In its decision, the Texas appeals court found that the Texas Bar’s Commission for Lawyer Discipline had failed to demonstrate Powell’s engagement in “dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation” in the lawsuits she filed contesting Trump’s loss. The court rejected the notion that imprecise pleadings or carelessly filed exhibits constituted dishonesty under the state’s professional code for attorneys.

“We are troubled by the Bar’s implicit suggestion that application of the ordinary meaning of the term dishonesty means the [disciplinary rule] encompasses imprecise pleadings and carelessly filed exhibits,” the appeals court stated. “Regardless of whether the challenged conduct must be knowing, intentional, or otherwise, a question we need not resolve here, it is axiomatic that dishonesty involves some conscious perversion of truth.”

The disciplinary commission now has the option to appeal the ruling to the state Supreme Court, though a spokesperson for the commission declined to comment on the decision and its future course of action.

Bob Holmes, Powell’s attorney in the disciplinary matter, hailed the court’s decision, stating, “Simply put – The Trial Court followed the law, and the appellate court affirmed the Trial Court’s judgment!”

While Powell succeeded in defeating the attorney discipline petition in Texas, she has faced other legal challenges related to her election-related activities. Notably, she pleaded guilty in a criminal prosecution brought by the Fulton County district attorney in Georgia for her involvement in election subversion plots.

Additionally, Powell has been unsuccessful in contesting sanctions imposed by a federal court in Michigan for filing frivolous lawsuits challenging the 2020 election outcome. Despite her victories in Texas, the US Supreme Court has declined to review these sanctions.