Supreme Court Rejects Lawyer Michael Avenatti’s Bid to Overturn Conviction

The U.S. Supreme Court on May 28 said it was rejecting a bid by lawyer Michael Avenatti, known for representing adult film actress Stormy Daniels, to overturn his conviction in a Nike-related case. The justices did not explain their decision. The court said Justice Brett Kavanaugh, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, did not participate in the decision to turn down Mr. Avenatti’s writ for certiorari, or review of a lower court ruling. Mr. Avenatti has represented a woman who accused Justice Kavanaugh of sexual assault. Mr. Avenatti was convicted in 2020 of extorting Nike and defrauding a client. At the center of the Nike-related case was a threat, caught on an audio recording, made by Mr. Avenatti in 2019. He threatened to tarnish the athletic wear company’s reputation and hurt its stock price by exposing its alleged corrupt payments to the families of college basketball prospects....