Lin Wood tells judge he can’t be sanctioned, never ‘broadcast’ video against court rules

A federal judge in Detroit cannot punish Lin Wood because the election conspiracy-peddling attorney has never practiced in her jurisdiction and technically did not meet the dictionary definition of “broadcast” when he shared a video of a recent court hearing in a way that would violate local rules, Wood’s attorney wrote in a filing submitted Thursday. 

The argument from Wood attorney Paul Stablein is part of a larger effort to stave off sanctions for lawyers who filed a lawsuit last year filled with false and misleading information in a failed attempt to help former President Donald Trump win Michigan. 

More:Federal judge grills Sidney Powell’s legal team in Michigan elections sanctions case

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Last week, U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker heard arguments for and against sanctioning Wood, Sidney Powell and a handful of other attorneys tied to the lawsuit. The Eastern District of Michigan bars the recording or broadcasting of hearings; typically, that prevents people from taking phones and cameras into courtrooms. But given the pandemic, Parker held the hearing virtually and it was broadcast over YouTube. 

After the hearing, Wood took to social media platform Telegram and shared a small portion of a recording that showed Powell speaking at the hearing. That immediately prompted Robert Davis, a serial litigant who is also a member of this lawsuit, to ask Parker to hold Wood in contempt of court. 

Stablein wrote she can’t punish Wood at all   because he has never practiced in the Eastern District of Michigan and is therefore not subject to its rules.

“Mr. Wood cannot be held to have practiced in this court or to be a member of this bar when he did not sign the pleadings nor authorize anyone else to sign for him. Therefore, this Honorable Court does not have the authority to impose discipline on an attorney who is not before the court in any capacity,” Stablein wrote. 

Wood’s name does appear on several of the legal filings, but he argued during the sanctions hearing that he had no role in crafting or filing the lawsuit. Stablein noted Wood did not sign any of the filings. Powell appeared to support this, saying only she and her attorney Howard Kleinhendler wrote the lawsuit. 

But when Parker asked Wood whether Powell requested his permission to include his name on this lawsuit, he appeared to say she did. 

“Yes, your Honor. Let me answer that. I do not specifically recall being asked about the Michigan complaint, but I had generally indicated to Sidney Powell that if she needed a, quote/unquote, trial lawyer that I would certainly be willing and available to help her,” Wood said, according to a trial transcript Stablein included in his filing.

“In this case obviously my name was included. My experience or my skills apparently were never needed so I didn’t have any involvement with it.” 

More:Lin Wood may face punishment after sharing clip of Michigan election sanctions hearing

More:Will sanctioning Sidney Powell in Michigan prevent the next Big Lie lawsuit?

Even if Parker does have the authority to sanction Wood, Stablein contests his client did not “broadcast” a recording of the hearing. Instead, he shared a link someone else created that included the recording. 

In his filing, Stablein pointed to the third definition of “broadcast” included in Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary: “To send out or transmit (something, such as a program) by means of radio or television or by streaming over the Internet.” 

Stablein argued Wood’s actions did not meet this definition. 

“He was told, through a post from another entity, that a recording existed. He did not make it, he did not authorize its making and he did not acquire himself a copy of it,” Stablein wrote. 

“He merely provided an address where, if others wanted to view the snippet of Sidney Powell’s statements, they could go to a particular place and look for themselves. It is not as if he invited someone into his own home and showed what he had to others there.” 

However, Stablein does not include the second definition of the word “broadcast,” also included in the same version of the dictionary: “To make widely known.” 

Wood has nearly 840,000 subscribers on Telegram. His post shared the recording with all of these subscribers, and was picked up by multiple news agencies, including the Free Press. 

Parker may respond at any time to Wood’s motion. She gave all attorneys in the sanctions case two weeks from the original hearing to file additional records, indicating a final ruling on punishment is not imminent. 

If she does decide to levy sanctions, punishments could range from fines to barring attorneys from practicing in the Eastern  District of Michigan again. 

Contact Dave Boucher at dboucher@freepress.com or 313-938-4591. Follow him on Twitter @Dave_Boucher1.

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