Judge orders lying DOJ lawyers to take ethics classes

[Joe Cooper]

A federal judge issued a scathing ruling against lawyers for the
Department of Justice who have been litigating the suit by 26 states
against the president's executive orders on immigration.

The DOJ lawyers had assured the judge that there had been no
implementation of the orders, but as it was later discovered, more than
100,000 illegal aliens had been granted reprieves from deportation.

David French calls Judge Andrew Hanen's order "one of the most stinging
court opinions I’ve ever read."

Washington Examiner:

A federal judge has ordered annual ethics classes for Justice Department
attorneys as a punishment for being "intentionally deceptive" during
litigation over President Obama's executive immigration orders.

"Such conduct is certainly not worthy of any department whose name
includes the word 'Justice,'" U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen wrote in a
withering order released Thursday.

Justice Department attorneys misled the court about when the Department
of Homeland Security would begin implementing President Obama's executive
order granting "deferred action" to illegal immigrants whose children are
citizens. In doing so, they tricked the 26 states who filed a lawsuit
into "foregoing a request for a temporary restraining order," according
to the judge.

The facts of the deception are not in doubt, Hanen emphasized. "[DOJ] has
now admitted making statements that clearly did not match the facts," he
said in the May 19 opinion, first noted by the National Law Journal. "It
has admitted that the lawyers who made these statements had knowledge of
the truth when they made these misstatements ... This court would be
remiss if it left such unseemly and unprofessional conduct unaddressed."

As punishment, Justice Department attorneys who wish to appear in any
state or federal court within the 26 states that brought the lawsuit have
to undergo annual ethics training. "At a minimum, this course (or
courses) shall total at least three hours of ethics training per year,"
he wrote.

In another case, such "egregious conduct" would lead him to strike the
government's pleadings, but Hanen decided not to take that step because
the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case in April.

"The national importance of the outcome of this litigation outweighs the
benefits to be gained by implementing the ultimate sanction," Hanen
wrote. "Striking the government's pleadings would not only be unfair to
the litigants, but also unfair, and perhaps even disrespectful, to the
Supreme Court as it would deprive that Court of the ability to thrash out
the legal issues in this case."

Hanen cited multiple instances in which Justice Department attorneys
claimed that Department of Homeland Security directive announced in
November of 2014 would not be implemented until February 18, 2015, even
though they knew that DHS had begun implementing a portion of the order
that pertained to the original "deferred action for childhood arrivals"
policy announced in 2012.

[/Washington Examiner]

Hanen order these other steps that need to be taken by the
administration:

* Provide the court with a list of all of the aliens who were given
benefits under the Obama amnesty plan.

* All DOJ attorneys stationed in Washington, D.C., who appear in the
courts of any of the 26 states that filed this lawsuit must take a yearly
ethics course taught by someone unaffiliated with the DOJ – and the
attorney general must file an annual report with Judge Hanen for five
years listing all of the DOJ attorneys who have appeared in those 26
states, certifying their attendance at this ethics course.

* Attorney General Loretta Lynch must file a comprehensive plan within
60 days “to prevent this unethical conduct from ever occurring again.”
She must ensure that “Justice Department trial lawyers tell the truth –
the entire truth.”

* Because he believes that whatever the Office of Professional
Responsibility at DOJ is doing “has not been effective,” Hanen ordered
Lynch to inform him within 60 days of the steps she is taking to “ensure”
that OPR “effectively polices the conduct of the Justice Department
lawyers and appropriately disciplines those whose actions fall below the
standards that the American people rightfully expect from their
Department of Justice.”

* Finally, Hanen said that the court “does not have the power to disbar
the counsel in this case, but it does have the power to revoke the pro
hac vice status of out-of-state lawyers who act unethically in court.”
Pro hac vice refers to lawyers getting permission to appear in a
particular court even though they are not licensed in that particular
state. Hanen issued a separate, sealed order barring the DOJ lawyers in
this case from appearing in his courtroom again. It seems clear from
Hanen’s statement that if he had the power to disbar the DOJ lawyers who
were involved in this case, he would likely have done so. They obviously
dodged a bullet.

The shock isn't that the DOJ lawyers lied to a federal judge. The shock
is that they actually believed they could get away with it. It's rare
for that kind of royal arrogance to be called out by a federal judge, and
Hanen spanked them well and good.

Don't expect any disciplinary action from the DOJ. The lawyers will
probably be promoted.

Source: http://bit.ly/1WGyiYI

Amazing...lying progressive lawyers (which, after 8 years of Marxism, is
most of the DoJ lawyers)actually bitch-slapped by a federal judge!

Will wonders never cease?


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on behalf of people who aren’t and to impose their will on those who
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can become a man."--Steven Ahle