Lawyers and Arguments

Lawyers are trained to argue with precision – facts, procedure and law. One of the most difficult things to do is to reply to a complaint or brief that is disorganized. That is the challenge that the lawyers (and courts) faced in drafting responses in the Trump’s election cases. They faced a further complication. How do you deal with lawyers who argue one thing in the complaint and then change their entire theory at oral argument? To use just one example, many of the initial complaints alleged “pervasive fraud.” However, in virtually every case (including the two cases decided yesterday), when pressed on the matter, plaintiffs’ lawyers repeatedly said “this is not a fraud case.”

Thankfully, the training received in law school means that responding to this level of incompetency is the exception rather than the rule. In the Trump cases, it has been “rinse and repeat” 59 times. So, when you hear people talk about Trump’s right to pursue his legal remedies, think about the wasted time and money required of the lawyers, the courts, and the administrative staffs of each. They have become increasingly exasperated and deserved better. It didn't have to be this way. There is only one person to blame and he will never take personal responsibility. All we want to be is done.

 Update: Kraken lawyer Sidney Powell said yesterday that she has “4 cases with massive evidence of fraud pending” at the Supreme Court. That is a lie. She has zero cases that are even docketed with the Supreme Court, much less “pending.” [Written December 15, 2020]