Gwonger News – Jan 4, 2002 – Court panel dismisses complaint against judicial critic

An Ohio Supreme Court panel reviewing the actions of judicial critic David Palmer has dismissed a complaint in which the Powell man was accused of practicing law without a license.

In the dismissal, the court's Commission on the Unauthorized Practice of Law found that Mr. Palmer, who has filed complaints against Supreme Court justices and county and appeals court judges, has not illegally dispensed legal advice.

The complaint, which was argued last year, focused on claims posted on Mr. Palmer's website that he offered free legal advice. The court's Disciplinary Counsel also argued that the "J.D." which frequently follows Mr. Palmer's name on website and other documents constituted a false representation that he holds the juris doctor degree that law schools confer upon their graduates.

In the board's opinion, however, the evidence presented was insufficient to find that Mr. Palmer dispensed legal advice to an individual. "It is fair to say that Palmer's web-site offers a type of general advice on legal matters, but his comments are little different from what can be found in any number of publications found on newsstands every day," the board's opinion states. "Books and magazine articles offered for sale in Ohio contain legal advice from authors not licensed to practice law in this state, yet the Supreme Court has never found those publications to constitute the unauthorized practice of law."

"One key element of the practice of law is missing in published advice offered to the general public: the tailoring of that advice to the needs of a specific person," the board's opinion continues. "The practice of law involves the rendering of legal advice to an individual."

The board also opined that the inclusion of "J.D." on Mr. Palmer's letterhead does not amount to him illegally holding himself out as an attorney. "As for the instances in which the "J.D." designation was used, there is no evidence that anyone was misled into believing that Palmer is admitted to practice law in Ohio," the board said. "There is no evidence that anyone else was fooled into thinking that Palmer was an attorney." Mr. Palmer said during his August hearing that the letters could stand for any combination of words, including "Just Dave."

His website suggests, among other things, the letters could be an abbreviation for "Junkyard Dog."

Mr. Palmer rattled cages in judicial circles when he filed complaints against Supreme Court Justice Thomas Moyer for comments made at an Ohio Republican Party meeting. He also recently charged Associate Justice Deborah Cook with filing inaccurate travel reimbursement forms. Both complaints were dismissed.