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Legal writing is often a dull, bland thing. And that’s to be expected, most motion practice is deeply immersed in the facts and specific applications of the law that aren’t particularly interesting, except to the parties involved. But sometimes filings transcend the case they’re a part of and become of general interest.
Such is the motion for sanctions in the Michigan election fraud case. If you’ll recall, the Michigan case was part of the bonkers Kraken litigation strategy touted by lawyer Sidney Powell. With the theories of the case widely debunked (and you know, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States), the case has moved to the Rule 11 phase. Earlier this month, the City of Detroit filed a motion for sanctions and requesting the court refer the seven attorneys involved — including Powell and Lin Wood — to their local bars for disciplinary action. The plaintiffs responded with an off-the-wall theory that sanctions somehow require ink signatures, which belies the advent of things like computers and the internet.
Well, now Detroit has filed their response, and their attorney, David Fink, comes out swinging. As reported by Law & Crime, the opening salvo in the filing draws a direct line between the dubious theories of the instant case and the January 6th insurrection which left five people dead with rhetorical flourish:
“Let there be no mistake, there is blood on Lin Wood and Sidney Powell’s hands and on the hands of all those who pushed this lawsuit,” Detroit’s attorney David Fink wrote in the opening lines of his blistering 22-page legal brief on Tuesday evening. “Brian Sicknick, a Trump supporting Capitol Police Officer, died defending the Capitol against those who were deranged by plaintiffs’ counsel and their ilk.”
“Rosanne Boyland, of Kennesaw, Georgia, who fell prey to the election lies, was crushed to death by fellow rioters,” the brief continues. “The life of Ashli Babbitt, a 35-year-old Air Force veteran from California, was cut short because she tragically believed the lies spread in this lawsuit. Ms. Babbitt’s final tweet was a retweet of L. Lin Wood stating, ‘Mike Pence @vp @Mike_Pence must resign & thereafter be charged with TREASON,’ and ‘Chief Justice John Roberts must RESIGN.’”
The filing also dispenses with the terrible argument that Powell and Wood are somehow immune from sanctions because they didn’t sign the filings with ink:
“In the present case, each attorney either signed frivolous documents or advocated for frivolous positions,” their legal brief states. “Indeed, this case was not local counsel’s case; it was Sidney Powell’s case. She announced she was filing it. She promoted the claims and the ‘experts.’ It was also Lin Wood’s case. He announced he was filing it. He promoted the claims, even adopting the Parler username @krakenwood.”
As my colleague Joe Patrice noted in previous coverage of this case, sanctions are always an uphill battle. But the City of Detroit is certainly making a great argument for them.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).