No. 25-281

Patrick Byrne v. US Dominion, Inc., et al.

Lower Court: District of Columbia
Docketed: 2025-09-10
Status: Denied
Type: Paid
Response Waived
Tags: constitutional-rights counsel-of-choice defamation due-process fifth-amendment protective-order
Latest Conference: 2025-11-07
Question Presented (from Petition)

1. In a civil defamation case where a discovery protective order is filed to shelter evidence of crimes, does a District Court err in affirming the disqualification of Petitioner's counsel of choice for violating the protective order, where she was obligated by state statute (MCL 750.149) to report criminal activity found in the discovery documents to law enforcement?

2. Where a civil litigant's right to retain counsel is rooted in Fifth Amendment notions of due process, was it a violation of Petitioner's constitutional rights for the District Court to disqualify his counsel of choice and for the Court of Appeals to refuse to hear this substantive and directly impactful ruling on jurisdictional grounds? See, e.g., Potashnick v. Port City Constr. Co., 609 F.2d 1101, 1118 (5th Cir. 1980); Powell v. Alabama, 287 U.S. 45, 68, 53 S. Ct. 55, 77 L. Ed. 158 (1932); Guajardo-Palma v. Martinson, 622 F.3d 801, 803 (7th Cir. 2010).

Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether a District Court erred in disqualifying counsel of choice in a civil defamation case for violating a protective order by reporting potential criminal activity to law enforcement, and whether such disqualification violates the petitioner's Fifth Amendment due process rights

Docket Entries

2025-11-10
Petition DENIED.
2025-10-15
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 11/7/2025.
2025-10-07
Waiver of U.S. Dominion, Inc., et al. of right to respond submitted.
2025-10-07
Waiver of right of respondent U.S. Dominion, Inc., et al. to respond filed.
2025-09-08
Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due October 10, 2025)

Attorneys

Patrick Byrne, Dr.,
Peter David TicktinThe Ticktin Law Group, PLLC, Petitioner
U.S. Dominion, Inc., et al.
Stephen Lee Shackelford Jr.Susman Godfrey L.L.P., Respondent