Orly Taitz, the unofficial leader of the "birther" movement trying to
prove President Barack Obama was not born in the United States, says
she won't pay a fine slapped on her by a federal judge for misconduct.

After being accused repeatedly by Taitz of compromising the judicial
process in a motion challenging the president's authority to deploy
soldiers overseas, on Tuesday Judge Clay Land of the US District Court
in Columbus, Georgia, slapped Taitz with a $20,000 fine.

Taitz "knowingly violated" court rules preventing lawyers from filing
frivolous or unfounded lawsuits, Judge Land wrote in his ruling. "Her
response to the Court’s show cause order is breathtaking in its
arrogance and borders on delusional. She expresses no contrition or
regret regarding her misconduct. To the contrary, she continues her
baseless attacks on the Court."

Last month, Taitz filed a motion with the federal court to stop Army
Capt. Connie Rhodes from being deployed to Iraq. Rhodes had argued
that President Obama was not born in the United States, and was
therefore not eligible to be president, and did not have the authority
to deploy soldiers.

Judge Land dismissed that suit and gave Taitz several weeks to explain
why he shouldn't fine her for misuse of court resources. Soon after,
Capt. Rhodes wrote to Judge Land, saying she no longer wanted to be
represented by Taitz.

But Taitz persisted even without her client. Instead of responding to
the judge's request, Taitz filed a motion asking the judge to recuse
himself from the case, accusing him of colluding with Attorney-General
Eric Holder to deny justice in the case. To support the claim, Taitz
filed an eyewitness affidavit claiming that a private citizen had seen
someone resembling Holder in a Columbus coffee shop on the day a
hearing into the case was held. Taitz's motion also compared the judge
to Georgia's racist jurists of past eras.

It was all too much for Judge Land, who wrote:

When a lawyer files complaints and motions without a reasonable basis
for believing that they are supported by existing law ... that lawyer
abuses her privilege to practice law. When a lawyer uses the courts as
a platform for a political agenda disconnected from any legitimate
legal cause of action, that lawyer abuses her privilege to practice
law. When a lawyer personally attacks opposing parties and disrespects
the integrity of the judiciary, that lawyer abuses her privilege to
practice law. When a lawyer recklessly accuses a judge of violating
the Judicial Code of Conduct with no supporting evidence beyond her
dissatisfaction with the judge’s rulings, that lawyer abuses her
privilege to practice law.
Read the judge's complete ruling here, courtesy of David Weigel at the
Washington Independent.

In a phone interview with TalkingPointsMemo's Justin Elliott, Taitz
said she won't pay the $20,000 fine.

Asked if she would send the judge a check, Taitz said: "Are you
kidding? Of course not. ... This is a form of intimidation."

Taitz said she plans to file another motion with the court,
challenging the judge's decision, but, as Elliott pointed out, "it's
unclear whether the court will even accept one."