Embattled porn troll Prenda Law has appealed the sanctions imposed on it earlier this year by US District Judge Otis Wright. But when Wright ordered Prenda to post a larger bond totaling $237,584, Prenda balked. The law firm was losing its "ability to appeal what it believes to be serious violations of its Due Process rights," Prenda wrote in an emergency motion to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Wright ordered the bond to assure that if Prenda loses, legal fees will get paid to the John Doe defendant in the case, represented by Morgan Pietz. Prenda argued that there was no legal basis for such a bond.

On Tuesday, a three-judge appeals panel ruled that Prenda was wrong. One judge dissented, solely on the issue of the bond amount, agreeing with Prenda that it was inappropriate to raise the bond amount from about $100,000 to the higher amount of nearly $238,000.

This emergency motion wasn't Prenda's only last-ditch effort to stop the sanctions, which included a referral to criminal investigators at the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service. Prenda-linked individuals filed a bizarre set of motions in Wright's court, saying they haven't been served properly with paperwork since they all became "pro se" parties.

Wright has scheduled a hearing for that motion this Friday, July 12, 2013. Today, Steele filed papers asking to be allowed to appear by telephone. Nine days' notice of the hearing date, over a holiday weekend, just isn't enough, he argued.

"[A]ttending a hearing in California is an extremely expensive proposition as it requires plane fare, a hotel room and other incidental expenses," Steele wrote, adding that "[S]everal of the pro se persons in this matter are of limited income and cannot afford the extreme financial hardship associated with missing work and flying across the country on 3 days notice."

The judge took less than two hours to respond: "The request is hereby DENIED. Mr Steele was advised by telephone by the clerk that his request for a telephonic appearance regarding his motion set July 12th is denied, and did NOT advise him to file such motion... The Court ORDERS Mr. Steele to appear in person for this hearing."