Barnard said Monday he will appeal Judge Parley Baldwin's $10,000 sanction to the Utah Supreme Court. The judge, he said, "simply made a mistake."

Barnard represented activist Dorothy Littrell and several dozen Ogden residents, who sued two city officials and Godfrey, accusing them of violating the city's campaign-finance laws.

Baldwin dismissed the lawsuit before the election and ordered that Littrell and the others pay half the attorney fees for the defendants - City Recorder Cindi Mansell, City Attorney Gary Williams and for Godfrey, who hired his own attorney.

Littrell paid more than $15,000, but the city's attorney, Stanley Preston, of Salt Lake City, asked the judge to sanction Barnard for violating Rule 11 of the Utah Civil Rules of Procedure. That rule is designed to discourage frivolous lawsuits.

Preston asked that Barnard pay the remainder of the legal fees, but the judge ordered Barnard to pay $10,000 (about $5,000 less) to Preston's firm, Snow Christensen & Martineau.

Preston said Monday the judge's decision was well-reasoned. "Hopefully this will deter similar conduct in the future," he said.

Barnard called the sanctions against Littrell and him "unwarranted."

"There is no factual basis. There is no legal basis for what the judge did," Barnard said.

In the early 1990s, Barnard said, trial judges in Salt Lake City were reversed by the Supreme Court after they sanctioned him in lawsuits he brought against the Utah State Bar. "I'm hopeful this time the results will be similar," he said.

Whether Littrell also will appeal has not been determined, he said.

kmoulton@sltrib.com