Advocate Discipline

New York, United States

Kenneth John Chesebro: disciplinary decision

Decision, 26 June 2025On 26 June 2025 the Appellate Division, Third Department, in a per curiam decision, ordered that Chesebro "is disbarred and his name is stricken from the roll of attorneys and counselors-at-law of the State of New York" (Matter of Chesebro, 2025 NY Slip Op 03855).1,5

Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department

What the decision found

According to the decision, in October 2023 Chesebro pleaded guilty in Georgia to one count of conspiracy to commit filing false documents, a felony, arising from a scheme to submit false 2020 election results to Congress. The court had treated the conviction as a serious crime under Judiciary Law section 90(4)(d) and suspended him on an interim basis by order of 31 October 2024. The court cited aggravating factors including his role in creating the legal framework for the scheme, his failure to report his conviction and suspensions in other jurisdictions and the Referee's finding that he showed no sincere regret. The Hill reported that the panel said his conduct undermined "the very notion of our constitutional democracy."1,5

Response

According to the decision, Chesebro argued that the Referee's findings were unsupported, that mitigating factors were overlooked, that his offence lacked moral turpitude and that he had no role outside Wisconsin in deciding where alternate electors were deployed. The Referee had recommended that his suspension continue pending the outcome of criminal charges in Wisconsin, and Chesebro agreed with that recommendation. The court rejected it and disbarred him. The Hill report included no statement from Chesebro or his lawyer.1,5

Appeal and later events

Chesebro appealed to the New York Court of Appeals (APL-2025-00152). On 17 March 2026 that court dismissed the appeal "by the Court sua sponte, upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved." On 12 March 2026 the Third Department denied his motion for leave to renew and to vacate the disbarment order, ordering that the motion "is denied in its entirety."3,4,2

Status now

Disbarred in New York by order of 26 June 2025. His motion to vacate was denied on 12 March 2026 and his appeal to the Court of Appeals was dismissed on 17 March 2026.1,2,4

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. New York Appellate Division, Third Department, Matter of Chesebro, 2025 NY Slip Op 03855 (26 June 2025)
  2. New York Appellate Division, Third Department, Matter of Chesebro, 2026 NY Slip Op 01440 (12 March 2026)
  3. New York Court of Appeals, New Filings, preliminary appeal statements, 29 August to 4 September 2025 (4 September 2025)
  4. New York Court of Appeals, Matter of Chesebro, 2026 NY Slip Op 64391 (17 March 2026)
  5. The Hill, Ex-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro disbarred in New York (26 June 2025)