Advocate Discipline

California, United States

John Charles Eastman: disciplinary decision

Decision, 15 April 2026The State Bar of California announced on 15 April 2026 that the Supreme Court of California had disbarred John Charles Eastman from the practice of law in California, in case S292011. The State Bar Court Hearing Department had recommended disbarment in March 2024 and the Review Department affirmed its findings in July 2025, according to the State Bar.1,2,3

Supreme Court of California, on the recommendation of the State Bar Court of California

What the decision found

According to the State Bar, the Hearing Department found Eastman culpable of 10 of 11 charges and said he advanced false claims about the 2020 presidential election to mislead courts, public officials and the public. CBS News Los Angeles reported that the charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. State Bar Chief Trial Counsel George Cardona said attorneys "must act with honesty and uphold the rule of law."1,4,3

Response

Eastman contested the charges and sought review. On 11 September 2026 he filed a petition for a writ of certiorari in the Supreme Court of the United States asking it to review the California disbarment. The ABA Journal and CBS News Los Angeles reports of the disbarment did not include a statement from him.2,3,4

Appeal and later events

Eastman v. State Bar of California, No. 26-336, was docketed in the US Supreme Court on 14 September 2026. The State Bar waived a response on 9 October 2026, the petition was distributed for the conference of 6 November 2026 on 14 October, the Court requested a response on 15 October 2026, and on 22 October 2026 the response deadline was extended to 16 December 2026. No ruling on the petition appeared on the docket as of that entry.2

Status now

Disbarred in California by order of the Supreme Court of California (S292011). A petition for certiorari, No. 26-336, was pending in the US Supreme Court as of 22 October 2026.1,2

This site covers only lawyers whose cases were widely reported and decided in published rulings. Each record states the decision exactly as the body made it, and any appeal or later change.

Sources

  1. State Bar of California, Attorney John Eastman disbarred by California Supreme Court (15 April 2026)
  2. Supreme Court of the United States, Docket No. 26-336, John C. Eastman v. State Bar of California (22 October 2026)
  3. ABA Journal, California Supreme Court disbars attorney John Eastman (16 April 2026)
  4. CBS News Los Angeles, Trump lawyer John Eastman disbarred in California (15 April 2026)