The California Supreme Court on Wednesday removed the law license of John Eastman, a conservative attorney who played a prominent role in efforts to challenge President Donald Trump’s 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden. The court issued its ruling without immediately releasing an explanatory opinion detailing the basis for its action.
The decision follows a recommendation from a California State Bar Court judge in March 2024 that Eastman be disbarred, a finding that the judge said was based on unlawful conduct and legal positions that lacked factual or legal support. The State Bar Court’s appellate division had earlier concluded that Eastman violated California attorney ethics rules prohibiting misleading courts and making false public statements.
George Cardona, chief trial counsel for the State Bar of California, commented in a statement that Eastman’s disbarment "affirms the fundamental principle that attorneys must act with honesty and uphold the rule of law, regardless of the client they represent or the context in which that representation occurs."
Eastman’s attorney, Randall Miller, said they plan to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Eastman’s law license had been suspended while he pursued his appeals of the State Bar Court’s finding.
Background and conduct at issue
A former Chapman University law professor in California, Eastman represented then-President Trump in a long-shot petition to the U.S. Supreme Court that sought to invalidate votes in four states. The article of record indicates that Eastman advanced claims that there was widespread voter fraud in those states, allegations that the account describes as false.
In addition to litigation, Eastman authored legal memoranda in the weeks after the election advising then-Vice President Mike Pence that he could decline to accept electoral votes from several swing states when Congress met to certify the Electoral College count. Pence rejected that theory, stating he lacked constitutional authority to refuse electoral votes.
Eastman also reiterated many of his election-related assertions while speaking at a rally outside the White House on January 6, 2021. That event preceded an assault by a crowd of Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol, which delayed Congress’s certification of the election results.
Criminal prosecutions and related outcomes
Separately from the bar proceedings, Eastman has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges filed in Arizona and Georgia tied to efforts to overturn the 2020 election in those states. The article notes that in November a prosecutor in Georgia dropped all charges related to the state’s case against Trump, Eastman and other defendants.
The California Supreme Court ruling marks a final state bar-level sanction unless overturned on appeal. Eastman has indicated his legal team will seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up further potential litigation over the disbarment order.
What remains limited in the record
The high court did not immediately provide an accompanying opinion explaining its legal reasoning, so specifics beyond the State Bar Court findings and prior recommendations remain to be seen until any opinion is published or produced on appeal.