A Delaware Superior Court judge ruled Monday that attorney L. Lin Wood, who filed a number of complaints challenging the results of the election, can't represent former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page in a state defamation case, saying it would be inappropriate to let Wood practice before the court because he has recently exhibited a "toxic stew of mendacity, prevarication and surprising incompetence."
In essence the judge is saying that Wood's reputation is so bad, he is either incompetent or unfit to practice law. The judge's memo cited, among other things, recent social media posts attributed to Wood, including a tweet suggesting that Vice President Mike Pence should be arrested and executed for alleged treason.
Also remember, this is the lawyer who filed a complaint seeking to reverse the election and signed it "under plenty of perjury."
It sounds strange for a judge to disqualify an attorney like this, but Wood's appearance before the court was going to be by admission pro hac vice. What the judge concluded was that a lawyer from a different jurisdiction should not be allowed to come to the judge's jurisdiction and practice given the attorney's history elsewhere. In other words, the judge was denying Wood's petition to practice in just this one case, not his ability to practice law in general.
"I acknowledge that I preside over a small part of the legal world in a small state. However, we take pride in our bar," the judge said.
You can read more on the story here: Law360, the Legal Profession Blog, Law & Crime, The ABA Law Journal, and Above the Law.
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