The Superior court has ruled that Theodore Kamasinski has illegally practiced law in New Hampshire.
Kamasinski became somewhat of a celebrity two years ago.
His representation of a woman in a divorce case led to the impeachment proceedings against the Supreme Court's chief justice.
Kamasinski is not a lawyer, but he performs legal functions under a gray area in state law.
Now, some attorneys say its time to clear up who in New Hampshire is eligible to practice law.
NHPR's David Darman has more.
The ruling by Judge Edward Fitzgerald prohibits Theodore Kamaskinski from offering legal services, or representing anyone else.
The judge?s decision says Kamasinski did not follow court protocol.
And it found Kamasinski was not of ?good character?, because he had been convicted of criminal activities in Europe years ago.
Kamasinski says Judge Fitzgerald manipulated the facts just to get him.
01 411 it?s a ruling that is fundamentally dishonest, because it distorts the facts of the case, it reaches conclusions that are contrary to the law, and it evidences the worst form of judicial conduct, misconduct, which is the lack of candor in judicial opinion writing. 01 428
Kamasinski has represented clients such as Judith Thayer, the former wife of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Thayer.
And he has been able to represent others.
New Hampshire law allows someone to choose another lay person to represent them.
Jack Middleton, a Manchester attorney has long opposed Kamisinski.
Middleton says people who are not attorneys should be prohibited from representing others.
Middleton says if Kamisinski wants to be a lawyer, he should go to law school and pass the bar.
04 310 I?m really troubled by the fact that people like mr kamasinsky try to go into the courts and represent people. I don?t think its appropriate any more than if he decided to go into the general practice of medicine or anything like that. 04 325
we have liscensing requirements that are meant to try and protect the public, frankly, from people like mr kamasinsky. 04 334
But New Hampshire law does not always draw a bold distinction between lawyers and non-lawyers who offer legal services.
Former State senator Ned Gordon of Bristol says New Hampshire?s law has many loopholes not found in other states.
22 30 for example, real estate brokers and agents negotiate contracts, which are normally the province of attorneys. And is the exclusive province of attorneys in other states. We all know that bankers get involved in preparing documents and agreements in the banking industry that in other states are the sole province of attorneys. 22 54
Gordon led a task force last year that tried to regulate non lawyers who practice law.
But the task force was unable to work out any regulations.
From the start, members could not agree on what defines a lawyer.
Since the task force couldn?t decide what a lawyer is, they couldn?t determine what a lawyer did.
Gordon says state lawmakers have to clear up those ambiguities.
24 07 The legislature is the one that enacted the statutes which have in large part created the confusion. It seems to me that its incumbent on the legislature to eliminate the ambiguity to develop a public policy regarding who may appear in court. 24 24
Given the trouble the task force had last year in coming up with a policy, it?s a good bet the current law will remain in place a while longer.
In the meatime, Theodore Kamasinski promises to appeal the decision against him.
If his case is accepted, it will go before the New Hampshire Supreme Court.
For NHPR news, I?m DD
