Professional-Trump legal professional Lin Wooden may lose approval as Georgia Bar seeks a psychological well being evaluation

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The Georgia State Bar is pursuing a lawsuit against attorney L. Lin Wood that could result in him losing his legal license due to “mental illness” or “cognitive impairment,” an official confirmed to Forbes on Friday, like the far-right Attorney faces ramifications for spreading conspiracy theories and alleged electoral fraud in a post-election attempt to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory.

Attorney Lin Wood at a rally in Alpharetta, Georgia, Friday, December 2, 2020 (AP Photo / Ben Margot)

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Important facts

Wood has teamed up with the Trump administration and has been behind several unsuccessful lawsuits attempting to overturn election results, including cases involving far-right lawyer Sidney Powell.

Twitter banned Wood permanently, and the White House distanced itself from him after spreading baseless conspiracy theories online, including the siege of the U.S. Capitol, now Vice President Mike Pence, and the U.S. Supreme Court, John Roberts.

Prosecutors “are conducting an investigation under Bar Rule 4-104” against Wood, Chief Operating Officer Sarah I. Coole told Forbes in an email, confirming the news first reported by Reuters.

This rule states that “mental illness, cognitive impairment, alcohol or drug abuse to the extent that legal competence is impaired” are reasons for revoking the license to practice law.

The rule allows the bar association’s board of directors to refer the matter to a psychiatrist and conduct a mental health assessment, and Wood said on the Telegram Thursday night that the organization told him they would “require a psychiatric evaluation from me if I did.” wanted to keep my law “. License. “

When the bar officially requests an exam, Wood said on Telegram Friday that he would “respectfully decline” because he is “in good mind” and does not believe he has broken the rules, adding that he will “become the problem.” dispute if necessary. ”

What to look out for

If Wood denies the request for a mental health assessment, “it may lead to further proceedings … including an emergency suspension proceeding,” according to the lawyer rules.

tangent

The Law & Crime Legal Department notes that Wood’s mental health concerns were raised prior to the election during a trial in early 2020. His former attorney partners alleged that Wood threatened suicide and physically assaulted their clients, with Wood’s attorney saying the attorney was in an “emotional downturn.”

Key background

The Georgia Bar trial is the latest consequence Wood faced for his post-election actions. The attorney was removed from a separate Delaware case representing former Trump adviser Carter Page in his post-election “toxic” litigation. Nicholas Sandmann, an 18-year-old from Covington Catholic High School who attracted attention for his viral standoff with a Native American elder, also dismissed Wood as his attorney on Tuesday. MSNBC presenter Joy Reid has asked a New York federal court to remove Wood from a libel case against her, and Mercer Law School is under pressure to remove Wood’s name from a school courtroom. Dominion Voting Systems, which has already filed two $ 1.3 billion lawsuits against attorneys Powell and Rudy Giuliani, has proposed bringing proceedings against Wood for spreading unsubstantiated allegations of electoral fraud related to the company’s voting machines, though nothing has been submitted yet.

further reading

Pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood has been asked by the regulatory agency to undergo a mental health assessment (Reuters)

Lin Wood Opened Delaware Lawsuit on Post-Election “Toxic” Lawsuits (Forbes)

Trump’s legal allies attack each other after Lin Wood tweeted wild conspiracies (Forbes)

Lin Wood – attorney closely associated with Trump – permanently banned from Twitter after claiming the siege of the Capitol was “staged” (Forbes)