Judge Fines Orly Taitz $20K

US District Judge Clay Land has had it with Orly Taitz. He slapped the birther leader with a $20,000 fine today for her constant stream of frivolous lawsuits and motions. In a scathing 43-page order, Land writes that Taitz willfully misused the court, and “as an attorney, she is deemed to have known better. … Her response to the Court’s show cause order is breathtaking in its arrogance and borders on delusional.”

The meticulous order seems designed to make an appeals court’s job as easy as possible if Taitz objects. He also sent a copy to the California bar, and said he’d refer the case to the US attorney if she doesn’t pay. Which, naturally, she doesn’t intend to do. “Are you kidding? Of course not,” she told TPM. “This is a form of intimidation. I'll take this as high as I have to go.” (More Orly Taitz stories.)