Orly Taitz, Birther, Fined $20,000 for Wasting Judicial Resources

Orly Taitz, an attorney who wasted the money and time of the court system claiming that President Obama was born in Kenya, therefore ineligible for Presidency, has been fined $20,000.

Orly Taitz was one of those who spearheaded the "Birther Movement", which claims that Barack Obama is not fit to be President because he was allegedly born in Kenya, and is therefore not an American citizen. Despite the evidence brought forth so far, Taitz has not backed down on her claim. The Governor of Hawai'i, Linda Lingle (R), has stated that the President was indeed born in Hawai'i. Furthermore, the birth announcements have been found in the archives of two newspapers. On July 28th, 2009, USA Today reported the following quote:

"I, Dr. Chiyome Fukino, director of the Hawaii State Department of Health, have seen the original vital records maintained on file by the Hawaii State Department of Health verifying Barack Hussein Obama was born in Hawaii and is a natural-born American citizen. I have nothing further to add to this statement or my original statement issued in October 2008 over eight months ago...."

None of this stopped Taitz, who still stands by her accusation and thumbs her nose at the fine of $20,000 imposed by Judge Clay Land of the U.S. District Court in the Middle District Of Georgia for wasting judicial resources. TPMMuckraker shared quotes from the judge, who said, in part:

"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."

Raw Story reports that Orly is refusing to pay the fine. When asked if she would make payment to the judge, Orly was quoted as saying:

"Are you kidding? Of course not. ... This is a form of intimidation."

Taitz plans to file yet another motion, however, the likelihood that the court would even accept is is unclear.