Ohio's self-appointed judicial watchdog has been silenced on the Internet by a California Judge.

 

In a permanent injunction filed last week, Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco F. Firmat ordered a Web site sponsored by David Palmer of Powell "disassociated and disconnected from all Internet search engines, indexes and providers."

 

Firmat was acting on a complaint from former lawyer Ronald E. Lais of Anaheim, Calif.

 

"I'm kind of a hero to those folks who have been bashed by David Palmer," Lais said yesterday.

 

The judge unplugged Palmer's Web site, www.amoralethics.com, on which Palmer listed grievances about lawyers and judges and asked readers to rank the worst ones.

 

"Very shortly I will be taking legal action as a result of this blatant attack on my First Amendment rights," Palmer said.

Lais' stationery identifies him as an "international attorney…not licensed to practice law in the US."

 

According to the California Bar Journal, Lais was suspended from practicing law for two years in December 2000. He resigned his license in March with other charges pending against him in eight separate cases.