Florida Supreme Court Reprimands False Electors Attorney, Declines Suspension
Florida’s highest court splits on disciplinary action for attorney convicted in Georgia false electors case, with lone dissenting justice calling for suspension.
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA — The Florida Supreme Court issued a reprimand to attorney Kenneth Chesebro rather than suspending his law license, despite his conviction in Georgia for filing false electors documents in the 2020 presidential election.
The court’s decision came over the objection of Justice Jorge Labarga, the only member not appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis. Labarga was placed on the Supreme Court in January 2009 by former Governor Charlie Crist.
Justice Calls for Harsher Sanctions
“In my view, the intentional commission of fraud upon the court is one of the most egregious ethical transgressions a lawyer can commit, and such serious misconduct necessitates the imposition of severe professional sanctions,” Labarga wrote in his dissent.
Labarga argued that a written reprimand was “disproportionate to the severity of Chesebro’s grave ethical violations” and characterized Chesebro’s actions as “an intolerable breach of professional ethics.”
Role in False Electors Scheme
Chesebro served as a key figure in the plot to submit fraudulent certificates claiming that Trump won battleground states including Arizona. The scheme aimed to undermine Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.
The attorney was convicted in Georgia for his role in filing the false list of electors in that state. According to Florida Bar records, Chesebro maintains his license to practice law in Florida under bar number 71623.
The Supreme Court’s majority decision allows Chesebro to continue practicing law in Florida with the reprimand on his record. The written reprimand represents the court’s formal censure of his conduct while stopping short of the suspension that would have prevented him from practicing law.
The case highlights ongoing disciplinary actions against attorneys involved in post-2020 election challenges. Several states have taken varying approaches to sanctioning lawyers who participated in efforts to contest election results through false elector schemes.
Justice Labarga’s dissent underscores the division within Florida’s highest court regarding appropriate professional sanctions for attorneys convicted of election-related fraud in other jurisdictions. His position represents the minority view that more severe disciplinary action was warranted given the nature of Chesebro’s conviction.
