Complaint filed against lawyer over election fraud case
SEATTLE (AP) — The Washington Attorney General’s office has filed a complaint against a Sequim lawyer who has filed lawsuits making meritless claims of widespread voter fraud in Washington.
The complaint to the Office of Disciplinary Counsel takes issue with attorney Virginia Shogren for a lawsuit against Gov. Jay Inslee that was recently rejected as “frivolous” by the state Supreme Court, The Seattle Times reported.
Shogren represented the Washington Election Integrity Coalition United in the lawsuit. Both were ordered to pay over $28,000 in legal penalties.
The complaint accuses Shogren of violating professional conduct rules when she “advanced frivolous legal arguments and made allegations of voter fraud with no basis in fact.”
Shogren didn’t respond to a request for comment. She was admitted to the state bar in 2003.
The election coalition represented by Shogren has other lawsuits against elections officials pending which make unsubstantiated claims of vote fraud. None of the group’s lawsuits has been successful — mirroring the situation nationally for such cases, which echo former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election.
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel is charged with investigating ethics complaints against attorneys in the state. It can recommend punishment from a formal warning to suspension or disbarment. Final decisions are made by court-appointed hearings officers, with suspensions and disbarments reviewed by the state Supreme Court.
