Joinder Sought In Election Litigation Bar Cases

District of Columbia Disciplinary Counsel has filed a motion seeking a joint hearing in the election litigation charges brought against Julia Haller and Brandon Johnson (already charged as co-Respondents) with those brought against Lawrence Joseph

There is not a risk, much less a serious risk, that a joint hearing would compromise any trial right of any of the respondents. Nor would a joint hearing prevent the Hearing Committee from making a reliable judgment about liability. Hearing Committees are regularly asked to parse out the relevant facts and attribute them to the correct respondent and make reliable and individualized determinations of liability. See, e.g., In re Dobbie & Taylor, 305 A.3d 780 (D.C. 2023); In re Kennedy & Dolan, 281 A.3d 36 (D.C. 2022); In re Dickens & Luxenberg, 174 A.3d 283 (D.C. 2017); In re Haines and Campoamor, Board Docket No. 20-BD-041 (Aug. 1, 2023) (pending review by DCCA).

A joint hearing would also conserve resources and not be unduly burdensome. Although Respondent Joseph was not counsel in the litigation filed with the federal courts in Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Arizona (and the subsequent appeals and petitions for review), there is substantial overlap with some of the allegations made in these court cases with the allegations made in the federal court action filed in Texas, the related appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the emergency application to the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay and interim relief pending the resolution of a petition for a writ of certiorari in which all three respondents were involved. Consolidation would also streamline the proceedings by eliminating the need to have some witnesses testify twice about the same matters in separate proceedings, and thus reduce the burden on these witnesses.

Finally, because counsel for Respondent Joseph is now representing Respondent Johnson, any burden on Respondent Joseph resulting from consolidation will be substantially minimized if not eliminated.

(Mike Frisch)