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Lucian Lincoln "Lin" Wood Jr. (born October 19, 1952) is an American attorney and
conspiracy theorist A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
. Following his graduation from law school in 1977, Wood worked as a
personal injury lawyer A personal injury lawyer is a lawyer who provides legal services to those who claim to have been injured, physically or psychologically, as a result of the negligence of another person, company, government agency or any entity. Personal injury la ...
, focusing on
medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...
litigation. He became known as a "celebrity lawyer" specializing in defamation lawsuits. Wood first drew media attention in relation to his representation of
Richard Jewell Richard Allensworth Jewell (born Richard White; December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard and law enforcement officer who alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlant ...
,David Kohn
"60 Minutes II: Falsely Accused,"
''CBS 60 Minutes,'' February 11, 2009.
the security guard falsely accused in the
Centennial Olympic Park bombing The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27, 1996, during the Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed one person and injured 111 others; another ...
in Atlanta in 1996. Wood's representation of Jewell helped transform him from a personal injury lawyer to a nationally known defamation lawyer. In addition to representing Jewell, Wood has represented the family of JonBenét Ramsey and former U.S. representative
Gary Condit Gary Adrian Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American former politician who represented California's 18th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003. He gained significant national attention for an extramarital af ...
in defamation suits. He was also hired by Republican political candidate
Herman Cain Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's d ...
to respond to allegations of sexual harassment. By 2020, Wood was frequently garnering attention through his promotion of
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...
, both in his capacity as a lawyer and as a political commentator and social media personality. After Joe Biden won the
presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The ...
, Wood promoted falsehoods and conspiracy theories on behalf of President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
, who he claimed actually won the election with 70% of the vote. Wood claimed that a secret
cabal A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually unbeknownst to those who are outside their group. T ...
of international communists, Chinese intelligence, and Republican officials had contrived to steal the election from Trump. Sometimes in association with Trump's attorney
Sidney Powell Sidney Katherine Powell (born 1955) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, which led the State Bar of Texas to seek sanctions agains ...
, Wood litigated on the president's behalf in many failed lawsuits, which sought to prevent the certification of legally cast ballots in the presidential election. In the latter part of 2020, Wood's social media activities attracted considerable attention. Wood called for the imprisonment of Georgia Governor
Brian Kemp Brian Porter Kemp (born November 2, 1963) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 83rd governor of Georgia since January 2019. A member of the Republican Party, Kemp served as the 27th secretary of state of Georgia from 2010 to ...
and Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and civil engineer, serving as the Secretary of State of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia House of R ...
, based on the conspiracy theory that the two Republican officials worked with the Chinese to help rig the vote for Biden. Wood made allegations against Chief Justice
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nat ...
reflecting
QAnon QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...
conspiracy theories. He suggested that Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50t ...
would "face execution by firing squad" and called for the arrest of then-Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
, both for treason. Delaware Supreme Court Judge Craig A. Karsnitz revoked Wood's permission to appear ''
pro hac vice In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...
'' before the Court, writing that there was "no doubt" that Wood's tweets were among the factors that incited the storming of the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob in January 2021. In August 2021, U.S. District Judge Linda Parker formally sanctioned Wood, Powell and seven other pro-Trump lawyers for their suit seeking to overturn Trump's election loss. The court determined that the nine attorneys had participated in "a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process," namely filing a baseless, frivolous lawsuit in order to undermine public confidence in the democratic process. The court ordered Wood and the other lawyers to pay costs to the State of Michigan and City of Detroit for their expenses in defending against the lawsuit, and referred them to their respective state disciplinary authorities for possible
disbarment Disbarment, also known as striking off, is the removal of a lawyer from a bar association or the practice of law, thus revoking their law license or admission to practice law. Disbarment is usually a punishment for unethical or criminal conduc ...
for conduct violating the rules of ethics for attorneys.Jan Wolfe
'Profound abuse': Judge disciplines pro-Trump lawyers over election lawsuit
Reuters (August 25, 2021).
Alan Feuer

''New York Times'' (August 25, 2021).


Early life and education

Wood was born in
Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the seat of Wake County in the United States. It is the second-most populous city in North Carolina, after Charlotte. Raleigh is the tenth-most populous city in the Southeas ...
and was raised in
Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Ge ...
from the age of three. He stated that his family struggled financially, with frequent episodes of domestic abuse involving his parents.Krista Reese
"Public figures have tough case to prove,"
''Denver Rocky Mountain News,'' November 7, 1999
Carlton Fletcher

''Albany Herald,'' September 14, 2008.
He has one sister, Diane Wood Stern, born February 1951, and a half-sister, Linda Martin, born in 1946. After a school dance, the then 16-year-old Wood returned home to find his father had beaten his mother to death. L. Lin Wood Sr. pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a charge reduced from first-degree murder.Kate Julian

''Slate,'' November 11, 2011.
He served a little over two years in prison. Wood has stated that it was this experience that solidified his earlier decision to become a lawyer.Erik Lundegaard
"L. Lin Wood, Attorney for the Damned, Gets Out Front for Herman Cain,"
"The Super Lawyers," November 9, 2011
Wood lived with friends and graduated from Mark Smith High School in Macon, Georgia in 1970. He attended
Mercer University Mercer University is a private research university with its main campus in Macon, Georgia. Founded in 1833 as Mercer Institute and gaining university status in 1837, it is the oldest private university in the state and enrolls more than 9,000 s ...
, graduating ''cum laude'' in 1974, and
Mercer University School of Law Mercer University School of Law (historically Walter F. George School of Law) is the professional law school of Mercer University. Founded in 1873, it is one of the oldest law schools in the United States; the first law school accredited by the ...
, graduating ''cum laude'' in 1977. He was admitted to the Georgia Bar. From 1977 to 1996, Wood litigated
personal injury Personal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. In common law jurisdictions the term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit in which the person bringing the suit (t ...
cases and
medical malpractice Medical malpractice is a legal cause of action that occurs when a medical or health care professional, through a negligent act or omission, deviates from standards in their profession, thereby causing injury or death to a patient. The negligen ...
cases in the State of Georgia.


Career

Lin Wood rose to prominence after representing
Richard Jewell Richard Allensworth Jewell (born Richard White; December 17, 1962 – August 29, 2007) was an American security guard and law enforcement officer who alerted police during the Centennial Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlant ...
, who was falsely accused of perpetrating the 1996
Centennial Olympic Park bombing The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27, 1996, during the Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed one person and injured 111 others; another ...
in Atlanta, and he subsequently represented clients in high-profile defamation cases.


Notable clients


Richard Jewell

Wood's first
libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defin ...
and
defamation Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defin ...
client was Richard Jewell, the security guard accused in the
Centennial Olympic Park bombing The Centennial Olympic Park bombing was a domestic terrorist pipe bombing attack on Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 27, 1996, during the Summer Olympics. The blast directly killed one person and injured 111 others; another ...
in Atlanta in 1996. Wood sued a number of media outlets, as well as Jewell's employer. Wood reached monetary settlements from Jewell's employer,
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...
, and
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are ...
, while ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, t ...
'' published a clarification, but paid no settlement. In 2012, after fifteen years of litigation, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld trial court decisions ruling against Jewell in his libel suit against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.


JonBenet Ramsey

Jewell was quickly followed by other high-profile cases, including
John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...
and Patsy Ramsey, the parents of JonBenét Ramsey, whose 1996 murder is still unsolved. Wood represented John and Patsy Ramsey and their son Burke, pursuing defamation claims on their behalf against
St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
,
Time Inc. Time Inc. was an American worldwide mass media corporation founded on November 28, 1922, by Henry Luce and Briton Hadden and based in New York City. It owned and published over 100 magazine brands, including its namesake ''Time'', ''Sports Illu ...
, The Fox News Channel,
American Media, Inc. A360 Media, LLC (branded a360media), formerly American Media, Inc. (AMI), is an American publisher of magazines, supermarket tabloids, and books based in New York City. Originally affiliated with only the '' National Enquirer'', the media compa ...
, ''
Star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...
'', '' The Globe'',
Court TV Court TV is an American digital broadcast network and former cable television channel. It was originally launched in 1991 with a focus on crime-themed programs such as true crime documentary series, legal analysis talk shows, and live news cove ...
and '' The New York Post''. The lawsuit against ''Star'' was settled. John and Patsy Ramsey were also sued in two separate defamation lawsuits arising from the publication of their book, ''The Death of Innocence''. The suit was brought by two individuals named in the book as having been investigated by Boulder police as suspects in JonBenét's murder. The Ramseys were defended in those lawsuits by Lin Wood and three other Atlanta attorneys, James C. Rawls, Eric P. Schroeder, and S. Derek Bauer. The lawsuits against the Ramseys were dismissed. In 2016, Wood represented Burke Ramsey, older brother of murder victim JonBenet Ramsey, in a pair of related lawsuits stemming from the CBS network docuseries '' The Case of: JonBenét Ramsey''. The first suit was filed against Dr. Werner Spitz, a Michigan-based forensic pathologist, over his assertion in a promotional CBS Detroit radio interview that Burke killed his sister when a young child. The other suit was against CBS and other parties involved in the docuseries, where the same allegations were made. Both lawsuits were settled out of court.


Other clients

Wood represented former U.S. Congressman
Gary Condit Gary Adrian Condit (born April 21, 1948) is an American former politician who represented California's 18th congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1989 to 2003. He gained significant national attention for an extramarital af ...
, and the alleged victim in the Kobe Bryant case. In November 2011, Wood was hired by then-presidential candidate
Herman Cain Herman Cain (December 13, 1945July 30, 2020) was an American businessman and Tea Party movement activist within the Republican Party. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Cain grew up in Georgia and graduated from Morehouse College with a bachelor's d ...
, in his efforts to fight off sexual harassment accusations. Wood was a lead attorney in a whistleblower case against DaVita Healthcare. The suit was settled in 2015 for $450 million plus up to $45 million in fees. Wood was the lead attorney in Nicholas Sandmann's defamation suits against a number of media companies, including
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...
and ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nat ...
''. Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School, was a party to the
January 2019 Lincoln Memorial confrontation On January 18, 2019, a confrontation between groups of political demonstrators took place near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The interaction between Covington Catholic High School student Nicholas Sandmann and Native American Nathan ...
. In January 2020, Wood settled with CNN, and in July 2020, the suit was settled with ''The Washington Post''. In December 2019, Wood lost a multi-million defamation case for
Vernon Unsworth In June and July 2018, a junior association football team and their assistant coach were rescued from the Tham Luang Nang Non cave in Chiang Rai Province in northern Thailand. Twelve members of the team, aged 11 to 16, and their 25-year-old as ...
against
Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a business magnate and investor. He is the founder, CEO and chief engineer of SpaceX; angel investor, CEO and product architect of Tesla, Inc.; owner and CEO of Twitter, Inc.; founder of The B ...
who had branded him a "pedo guy". The case was lost because the jury felt that Musk's tweet did not properly identify Unsworth, as he was not mentioned by name. In 2020 and 2021, Wood represented
U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for Georgia's 14th congressional district,
Marjorie Taylor Greene Marjorie Taylor Greene (born May 27, 1974), also known by her initials MTG, is an American politician, businesswoman, and far-right conspiracy theorist Sources describing Greene as "far-right" include: * * * * * * * * * who has served as the ...
. He also represented Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the couple who aimed firearms towards Black Lives Matter protestors in St. Louis in June 2020.


2020 elections and QAnon

Wood has claimed that President Trump won the presidential election with 70% of the vote, and that a secret cabal of international communists, Chinese intelligence, and Republican officials had conspired to steal the election from Trump. While litigating on Trump's behalf, he falsely asserted to the media and in court that more votes were cast in
Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
during the 2020 presidential election than the entire population of eligible voters in the state, a conclusion he drew from a mistaken comparison of the Michigan vote total with
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
population data. Wood has circulated multiple videos alleging that Cobb County, Georgia shredded evidence of voter fraud in the November 2020 general election, and his Twitter profile includes the hashtag #WWG1WGA (where we go one, we go all), a slogan associated with the far-right
QAnon conspiracy theory QAnon ( , ) is an American political conspiracy theory and political movement. It originated in the American far-right political sphere in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". ...
. Wood called for would-be Republican voters to "threaten to withhold your votes" and monetary support for Georgia's Republican candidates for the Senate, incumbents
David Perdue David Alfred Perdue Jr. (; born December 10, 1949) is an American politician and business executive who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2015 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Perdue was an unsuccessful candidate f ...
and
Kelly Loeffler Kelly Lynn Loeffler (, ; born November 27, 1970) is an American businesswoman and politician who served as a United States senator for Georgia from 2020 to 2021. Loeffler was chief executive officer (CEO) of Bakkt, a subsidiary of commodity and ...
, if they did not demand "investigations" into the election. At the end of December 2020, Wood launched a series of baseless allegations on
Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, an ...
: he implied that Chief Justice
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nat ...
was involved in the death of Justice
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectua ...
, suggested that Roberts was a child trafficker, declared that the deceased
Jeffrey Epstein Jeffrey Edward Epstein ( ; January 20, 1953August 10, 2019) was an American sex offender and financier. Epstein, who was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, began his professional life by teaching at the Dalton School in Manhattan, des ...
was actually alive, and that Epstein could reveal the truth about Roberts. At the start of January 2021, Wood declared his belief that Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50t ...
would "face execution by firing squad" for "treason", after Pence's lawyers fought a lawsuit which was aimed at making Pence refuse to count electoral votes for Joe Biden. Wood also called for Roberts and Senate Majority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and retired attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky and the Senate minority leader since 2021. Currently in his seventh term, McConne ...
to be arrested for treason. Wood was criticized for these comments, and responded by insisting that he is not insane. In early January 2021, Wood continued promoting unfounded conspiracy theories linked to QAnon, alleging that Roberts had committed child rape and child murder, and was being blackmailed for this by ten intelligence agencies of various nations. Wood said that hacker group
Lizard Squad Lizard Squad was a black hat hacking group, mainly known for their claims of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks primarily to disrupt gaming-related services. On September 3, 2014, Lizard Squad seemingly announced that it had disbanded ...
obtained the information; a former member of Lizard Squad denied this. Wood also baselessly claimed that QAnon supporter
Isaac Kappy Isaac Kappy (February 17, 1977 – May 13, 2019) was an American actor, musician, and conspiracy theorist. He had roles in the films '' Thor'' (2011) and ''Terminator Salvation'' (2009) and in the AMC television series ''Breaking Bad''. He was ...
was murdered for attempting to transmit the information to then-President Trump (Kappy committed suicide in 2019). On January 11, 2021, Delaware Superior Court Judge Craig A. Karsnitz gave Wood's social media postings in his published reasons for an order revoking Wood's right to appear before the court. Karsnitz described the allegations about Roberts as "too disgusting and outrageous to repeat," and stated that he had "no doubt" that Wood's tweets (along with "many other things") played a role in inciting the attack on the Capitol that occurred a few days before. On January 6, 2021, before the College vote count, through a Twitter Post, Wood called for the immediate resignation of Vice President
Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50t ...
, Deputy Attorney general
Rod Rosenstein Rod Jay Rosenstein (; born January 13, 1965) is an American attorney who served as the 37th United States deputy attorney general from April 2017 until May 2019. Prior to his appointment, he served as a United States attorney for the District ...
and Supreme Court Justice
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including ''Nat ...
and asserted that charges should be brought against Pence and Rosenstein. His Twitter account was permanently suspended after the January 2021 storming of the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. After the attack on the Capitol, Wood falsely claimed that members of the pro-Trump mob were antifa activists in disguise and that Vice President Mike Pence was a "child molester". Wood subsequently called for the execution of Pence on
Parler Parler () is an American alt-tech social networking service associated with conservatives. Journalists have described Parler as an alt-tech alternative to Twitter, and users include those banned from mainstream social networks or who oppose ...
, writing, "Get the firing squads ready. Pence goes FIRST." Parler removed several of Wood's posts due to violations of their community guidelines, including the one calling for Pence's execution. In May 2021, Wood (alongside
Sidney Powell Sidney Katherine Powell (born 1955) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, which led the State Bar of Texas to seek sanctions agains ...
and
Michael Flynn Michael Thomas Flynn (born December 24, 1958) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general and conspiracy theorist who was the 24th U.S. National Security Advisor for the first 22 days of the Trump administration. He resigned in light of ...
) was a keynote speaker at a QAnon conference in
Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...
.


Georgia

On November 13, 2020, after Joe Biden defeated Trump in the presidential election in Georgia, Wood filed a lawsuit in the federal district court in Atlanta, naming himself as plaintiff. Wood claimed that Georgia's procedures for handling absentee ballots had been unconstitutional since March 2020 and sought to block certification of the state's election results. Wood later also claimed that Georgia's recounting of votes was flawed. Wood's lawsuit failed on November 19, 2020, when U.S. District Judge Steven Grimberg, who was appointed by Trump, found "no basis in fact or in law" to stop Georgia's certification of its election results at such a late stage, as this would "breed confusion and potential disenfranchisement". The judge ruled that Wood had no
legal standing Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. ...
to bring the lawsuit, and had brought the case too late. Wood failed to show that he had been harmed, while his proposal would "harm the public in countless ways". A three-judge panel on the
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...
unanimously affirmed the district court's dismissal of the suit on December 5, 2020. The court found that Wood had failed "to allege a particularized
injury An injury is any physiological damage to living tissue caused by immediate physical stress. An injury can occur intentionally or unintentionally and may be caused by blunt trauma, penetrating trauma, burning, toxic exposure, asphyxiation, or o ...
" and his request to delay certification was in any case
moot Moot may refer to: * Mootness, in American law: a point where further proceedings have lost practical significance; whereas in British law: the issue remains debatable * Moot court, an activity in many law schools where participants take part in s ...
because Georgia had by then already certified its election results. On December 18, 2020, Wood filed another lawsuit in the
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia The United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (in case citations, N.D. Ga.) is a United States district court which serves the residents of forty-six counties. These are divided up into four divisions. Appeals from cases ...
. Wood sought an emergency injunction to halt the Senatorial runoff election for the two United States Senate seats from Georgia. The complaint contained a remarkable typographical error in that it was verified by Wood "under plenty of perjury" rather than "under penalty of perjury". U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten denied Wood's request for a temporary restraining order on December 28, 2020, stating that Wood lacked standing to file the lawsuit, that his claims of potential voter fraud were "too speculative," and that overall the lawsuit had "no basis in fact or law."


Michigan

On December 7, 2020, Wood lost the federal lawsuits he litigated with
Sidney Powell Sidney Katherine Powell (born 1955) is an American attorney, former federal prosecutor, and conspiracy theorist who attempted to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, which led the State Bar of Texas to seek sanctions agains ...
in Michigan, where they had argued to overturn Joe Biden's victory in the state and award the victory to President Donald Trump. In denying their request for relief, U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker stated that the plaintiffs had only offered "theories, conjecture, and speculation" of potential vote switching, that the "ship has sailed" for most of the relief requested, and that much of what was sought "is beyond the power of any court". Parker also suggested that Wood and Powell's motive for filing the case was not to win, but to shake "people's faith in the democratic process and their trust in our government" and that granting their requests would "greatly harm the public interest." In January 2021, the
city of Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
filed a motion to call for sanctions against Wood, Powell, and other lawyers who filed the unsuccessful case challenging Michigan's election results. In a July 2021 court hearing, Wood argued that he could not be sanctioned. He said his name was "placed on" the complaint, but he "had no involvement whatsoever with it". Wood said that he had "generally indicated" to Powell that if she required a "trial lawyer", he would "certainly be willing or available to help her", while Powell said she believed that she added Wood to the case with him knowing about it, but also said that may have been a "misunderstanding". Although the court prohibited "broadcasting of judicial proceedings", Wood posted a two-minute video of the court hearing on the
Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
messaging application, later deleting it. On August 25, 2021, the Court ruled that Wood, Powell, and the other plaintiff's counsel "filed this lawsuit in bad faith and for an improper purpose"; ordered them to pay attorney's fees of some of the defendants; and referred them to their respective state bars for disciplinary action. The court determined that the pro-Trump attorneys had participated in "a historic and profound abuse of the judicial process," namely filing a baseless, frivolous lawsuit in order to undermine public confidence in the democratic process.


Delaware

Based on his actions in election-related cases, Judge Karsnitz ordered Wood to show cause why his right to appear ''
pro hac vice In the legal field, ''pro hac vice'' () is a practice in common law jurisdictions whereby a lawyer who has not been admitted to practice in a certain jurisdiction is allowed to participate in a particular case in that jurisdiction. Although ''pro ...
'' in a Delaware Superior Court defamation case where he was representing
Carter Page Carter William Page (born June 3, 1971) is an American petroleum industry consultant and a former foreign-policy adviser to Donald Trump during his 2016 presidential election campaign. Page is the founder and managing partner of Global Energy C ...
; Wood's right to appear was revoked on January 11, 2021. In explaining his decision, Judge Karsnitz wrote that Wood's actions in the Georgia and Wisconsin election-related lawsuits "exhibited a toxic stew of mendacity, prevarication, and surprising incompetence." Karsnitz agreed with Judge Batten that the Georgia lawsuit was a "textbook
xample of Gavin Harris, better known as Xample, is a British drum and bass producer and DJ, who originates from Bristol, England. He has been releasing records since 2003. In June 2007, he scored a number 1 on the UK Dance Chart The UK Dance Singles C ...
frivolous litigation Frivolous litigation is the use of legal processes with apparent disregard for the merit of one's own arguments. It includes presenting an argument with reason to know that it would certainly fail, or acting without a basic level of diligence i ...
," and stated that the initial pleadings in the Wisconsin case "would not survive a law school civil procedure class." Judge Karsnitz concluded that he was satisfied that "it would be inappropriate and inadvisable to continue Mr. Wood's permission to practice before this court." In issuing the order, Karsnitz was highly critical of Wood's social media postings, though he stated that his decision was based on Wood's litigation conduct.


Law firm break-up

In August 2020, Wood was sued by three of his former law firm colleagues, in a lawsuit which alleged that Wood owed them money because he breached a contract regarding a settlement between them when the trio tried to leave his law firm. The lawsuit also alleged that Wood had fraudulently induced them with "abusive" communications, including that "God Almighty" was directing him. Wood responded that the lawsuit was a "shakedown" for money, claiming that the communications were "irrelevant" and from "a difficult time in my personal life arising primarily from my family's reaction to my faith in Jesus Christ."


Bar investigation

In 2021, the Georgia State Bar commenced an investigation to determine whether Wood violated the state's rules of professional conduct in his election-related litigation. As part of that investigation the state bar sought a mental health examination of Wood, which Wood unsuccessfully attempted to block. Wood was later, separately referred to the Georgia State Bar for possible discipline over the Michigan election litigation in which he participated, a lawsuit the Michigan judge found was filed "in bad faith and for improper purpose."


Views

Wood is a 9/11 truther, claiming "no planes" hit the World Trade Center and Pentagon on September 11, 2001 and that the planes visible in the footage are " CGI". According to posts made on his social media, he believes the Earth is flat, writing "Is the Earth flat or is it a spinning ball??? The answer is found in the Holy Bible. Do the research. Connect the dots. Draw your own conclusion".


Personal life

Wood lived in Atlanta, Georgia from 1955 until 2020. In April 2020 he purchased property in South Carolina, and moved there later that year. He formally changed his legal residency to South Carolina in February 2021. In February 2021, Georgia Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger Bradford Jay Raffensperger (born May 18, 1955) is an American politician, businessman, and civil engineer, serving as the Secretary of State of Georgia since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Georgia House of R ...
's office announced that it was investigating the possibility that Wood had committed voter fraud due to questions over whether Wood had been a legal resident of the state when he cast his vote in the 2020 elections in Georgia. According to Georgia law, if someone moves to another state with the intention of establishing residence, they are no longer a resident of Georgia. Wood has four children, two of whom are attorneys. According to documents submitted in court, Wood is estranged from his adult children and his grandchild. In 2016, Wood and Mercer University announced a one million dollar fund set up by Wood at his alma mater to be called the "L. Lin Wood Fund for the Enhancement of Mercer Law School".


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, L. Lin 1952 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers American conspiracy theorists Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers Killing of JonBenét Ramsey Living people Mercer University alumni People from Macon, Georgia People from Raleigh, North Carolina South Carolina lawyers QAnon Flat Earth proponents