The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered John Eastman disbarred, stripping the attorney who devised a plan for then-Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of the 2020 presidential election of his license to practice law in the state. The court ordered Eastman’s name stricken from the California roll of attorneys, capping a yearslong disciplinary proceeding that the State Bar’s chief trial counsel said was driven by clear evidence of misconduct.
The disbarment ends Eastman’s ability to practice law in California and takes effect despite a presidential pardon that Trump granted in November, which covered only federal criminal liability. Eastman’s attorney said he intends to seek review by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Eastman wrote a memo laying out a plan for Pence to reject legitimate electoral votes for Joe Biden while presiding over the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021. Prosecutors seeking to strip Eastman of his license depicted him as fabricating a baseless theory and making false claims of fraud in hopes of overturning the election results. A State Bar Court of California judge recommended in 2024 that Eastman lose his license. Eastman argued during the proceedings that he was being punished for simply giving legal advice.
George Cardona, chief trial counsel for the State Bar of California, said Wednesday’s decision follows clear evidence that Eastman “advanced false claims about the 2020 presidential election to mislead courts, public officials, and the American public.”
“The Court’s order underscores that Mr. Eastman’s misconduct was incompatible with the standards of integrity required of every California attorney,” Cardona said.
Eastman’s attorney, Randall Miller, said the ruling “raises pivotal constitutional concerns” and that they plan to seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court. The decision, Miller said, “departs from long-standing United States Supreme Court precedent protecting First Amendment rights, especially in the attorney discipline context.”
The States United Democracy Center, which filed an early ethics complaint against Eastman, said it welcomed the ruling. “His unethical actions have had real, lasting consequences for our democracy,” Christine P. Sun, a senior vice president for the nonprofit, said in a statement.
Eastman was a close adviser to President Donald Trump in the period leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump pardoned Eastman in November, but the pardon covered only federal crimes. Eastman had also faced criminal charges in Georgia in a case accusing Trump and 18 allies of conspiring to overturn the Republican’s loss in that state; that case was dismissed in November.
Before his work for Trump, Eastman had served as a law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and as dean of Chapman University’s law school in Southern California from 2007 to 2010. He retired from the school in 2021 after more than 160 faculty members signed a letter calling for the university to take action against him.