In Los Angeles, a leftist judge has recommended stripping John Eastman, a lawyer known for his conservative views and a former law school dean, of his California legal license due to his actions on behalf of 45th President Donald Trump aimed at sending electors back to the states after the allegedly fraudulent 2020 election, in which Joe Biden was declared the winner despite abnormalities.
The disciplinary actions faced by Eastman in the state’s bar court arise from his formulation of a legal approach that suggested then-Vice President Mike Pence could intervene in the certification of Joe Biden’s allegedly deceitful electoral win. Judge Yvette Roland of the State Bar Court of California recommended this, and the case is now pending a final verdict from the California Supreme Court, with Eastman retaining the right to contest their decision.
Roland, according to her former firm, Duane Morris, upon her appointment to the bench, she “served as a board member and past president of the Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, and she is a board member of the Black Women Lawyers Foundation and the California Association of Black Lawyers. She also is a member of the American Bar Association, John M. Langston Bar Association and the National Bar Association.”
“Roland also represented employers against wrongful termination, retaliation, unfair competition, breach of contract, wage and hour, harassment and discrimination claims arising on the basis of race, religion, sexual orientation and national origin. While she was a seasoned litigator in state and federal courts, Roland resolved many multimillion-dollar disputes by implementing appropriate alternative dispute resolution measures,” the firm’s website read.
Eastman’s defense, articulated by his attorney Randall Miller, asserts that Eastman’s legal interpretations post the 2020 election were rooted in established legal precedents, historical election outcomes, constitutional analysis, and comprehensive academic research. Miller emphasized that Eastman’s process mirrored the standard legal practices undertaken daily by attorneys across the nation.
Judge Roland found Eastman responsible for 10 out of the 11 allegations against him, which included deceiving the courts, moral turpitude, issuing false statements, and collaborating with Trump to impede the presidential power transition. Roland’s detailed 128-page judgment highlighted Eastman’s alleged conspiracy with Trump to disrupt the governmental procedure, particularly the electoral count on January 6, 2021.
Eastman is also implicated in trumped-up criminal charges in Georgia related to efforts to contest the 2020 election results alongside Trump and others. Despite pleading not guilty and defending his actions as legitimate legal advocacy for Trump, Eastman criticized the charges as an attack on lawyers’ vigorous defense of their clients.
The California State Bar accused Eastman of engaging in conduct that violated ethical standards, including making false claims that threatened democratic integrity by attempting to subvert the electoral outcome. Roland, in her ruling, claimed that Eastman’s statements went beyond acceptable legal advocacy and constituted lies that breached his duty of honesty and ethical obligations.
While Roland concurred with Eastman’s defense on one count, asserting his speech at a January 6 rally in Washington did not directly incite the Capitol incursion, she ruled that Eastman should be placed on involuntary inactive status, effectively barring him from practicing law in California pending the Supreme Court’s decision.
The “States United Democracy Center,” a leftist dark money group that has attacked Eastmand and three New Mexico legislators, including Piñon Post founder and editor Rep. John Block (R-Alamogordo), lauded the ruling.
“This is a crucial victory in the effort to hold accountable those who tried to overturn the 2020 election. After hearing from almost two dozen witnesses over a 35-day trial, the court found that John Eastman violated his ethical duties to uphold the constitution,” said Christine P. Sun, a senior vice president for the D.C.-based swamp group. “This decision sends an unmistakable message: No one is above the law — not presidents, and not their lawyers.”
Eastman, who has been part of the California Bar since 1997, has a notable legal background, including clerking for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and contributing to constitutional law through the Claremont Institute’s Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence.
His academic tenure at Chapman University’s law school ended in 2021 following a faculty uproar over his involvement in the post-election controversies. He lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
