Wingnut Group Seeks Sanctions Against DOJ Attorneys Who Oppose DOMA

The anti-gay Pacific Justice Institute is calling for sanctions against Department of Justice attorneys who have refused to defend the federal government from lawsuits seeking to overturn DOMA.

“Government lawyers are essentially rising from the table for counsel for the defendant, walking across the courtroom and sitting down at the plaintiff’s table,” said PJI chief counsel Kevin Snider. “These attorneys are now seeking to have judgment taken against the party that they represent – the United States. Snider said what the DOJ has done would be “unthinkable for any other lawyers.” Their actions raise “serious concerns that professional rules and ethics are being violated,” he said. PJI plans to file complaints with various licensing agencies against the attorneys, whose names are listed online.

Pacific Justice Institute president Brad Dacus:

"When the United States and its agencies are sued over the Defense of Marriage Act, the clients are not the president or the attorney general – the clients are the people of the United States. It is bad enough for the Department of Justice to abandon its clients, but it is unethical and sanctionable for those attorneys to switch sides and ask for judgment leading to damages and attorneys’ fees against their own clients. We are calling on state bar authorities to simply undertake the same investigations and disciplinary actions they would take against any other lawyers who flagrantly violate their duties of client loyalty."

The petition is already online.