Nightly Nuance - January 6, 2020

Hello, my friends. The universe has given us an awful lot of interesting material today. Sarah and I will discuss the Georgia runoffs, the electoral college certification, and the Pennsylvania legislature's shenanigans on the podcast Friday. For today, at Katherine's suggestion, let us behold a motion for sanctions against Lin Wood and Sidney Powell -- the Trump-campaign-adjacent "kraken" lawyers. 

This motion comes to us from Timothy King et al v. Gretchen Whitmer et al. This is the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan seeking to disenfranchise Michigan Biden voters based on "expert reports" that seem to have little do with Michigan and an utter lack of actual expertise. It is also the lawsuit in which Melissa Carone made an appearance, and if you've not seen Cecily Strong's reenactment, here it is and you're welcome. 

The motion is filed under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 11, which requires attorneys to act in good faith in court, and which, occasionally, provides a teensy bit of justice in a largely unjust world. 

What does the City of Detroit want from Lin Wood and Sidney Powell? In a word, everything -- all the money they've raised off filing these lawsuits, money to pay for the expenses and lawyer bills of every other party in the case, and their law licenses. They also have special words for the Michigan politicians who signed on as the plaintiffs in this case. 

It's a deep dive on a single motion in federal district court because I know so many of us are interested in greater accountability for actions that seem so stunningly wrong. And I believe this is an instance in which justice, albeit limited, is actually available. 

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