How Attorneys in Supreme Court LGBTQ+ Case Could Be Disbarred
Supreme Court last week could be disbarred amid new reports that refute the veracity of a key document at the center of 303 Creative v.
Elenis.On Friday, the Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority ruled in favor of a Colorado web designer who argued she should not have to serve gay customers due to her religious beliefs as a Christian, and that prohibiting her business from doing so would violate her First Amendment rights.One of the documents that both sides of the case repeatedly referenced was an inquiry that Lorrie Smith received from an engaged same-sex couple asking her to build a website for their wedding.
But in the days leading up to the court's bombshell decision, reports emerged that the inquiry was falsified and the man named in the complaint told several news outlets that not only had he never sent Smith the website request, but also that he is straight and has been married to a woman for the last 15 years.Those allegations are now raising questions about whether or not the attorneys representing Smith will be subject to repercussions for breaking ethical and procedural rules that bar lawyers from making misrepresentations in court."If a lawyer (or anyone else) on the plaintiff side knew that there was no such claim she could face several consequences, from the minor to the major," former Assistant U.S.
Attorney Andrew Weissmann told Newsweek.If the lawyers representing Smith are found to have made knowingly false representations, the Supreme Court could remove them from practicing in that court and arguing future cases before the justices, Weissman said.
