Man accused of practicing law maintains his right

TOPEKA — A man who has spent three months in jail on charges of practicing law without a license maintains that he is being held hostage by a government that wants him to sign away his right to help others.

David Martin Price, 48, of Topeka, has been in the Shawnee County jail since Aug. 6 despite his repeated efforts to get the federal courts to take up his case. Price, who is not an attorney, was jailed by the Kansas Supreme Court, which cited him for contempt for giving legal advice to others.

The justices want him to sign an agreement saying he won't give any more advice before they will free him.

"If I sign that document, I'm giving them personal and subject matter jurisdiction," Price said. "I'm not about to do that. (I'll stay) until I can prove what they did was beyond the legal scope and beyond what the law requires."

The saga began in 1998 when Price formed Pro Se Advocates, intending to help people with paperwork if they couldn't afford an attorney. He hasn't signed court documents or claimed publicly to be anyone's attorney.

Kansas' Attorney General's Office received a consumer complaint in 2006 and filed a lawsuit — against Price, his wife and an associate — with the Supreme Court, which licenses and regulates attorneys.

In December 2007, the Supreme Court prohibited Price from acting as anyone's attorney or providing legal advice. The court kept open the case against his wife and their associate, but the two ultimately settled it with the state.

Then in July 2008, Price sent a letter to the Attorney General's Office for a Topeka-area man who had a dispute with a state regulatory board. Price listed himself as an "advocate" and demanded that the attorney general's office pay the man $3,122 to cover his legal expenses, plus $750 in interest.

The Attorney General's Office went back to the Supreme Court, seeking a contempt citation.

Price has filed legal challenges against Kansas court officials, which state and federal courts have found frivolous. He claims the court broke the law in jailing him and says he is a victim of political vendettas.

"I'd like to challenge President Obama and Reverend (Jeremiah) Wright to come check out this type of Gestapo justice we have here in Kansas," Price said. "And if he doesn't think this is outrageous, I will put my next bid in for the presidency of the United States."

Suzanne Valdez, a clinical associate law professor at the University of Kansas, is a member of the Kansas Supreme Court's Pro Se Committee. The term refers to people who represent themselves in court without assistance of a licensed attorney, but may lack the money to hire an attorney or the expertise to navigate the legal process. She said the laws are "muddy" regarding pro se and advocates, but people need to understand their legal limitations.

"The pro se litigant issue isn't going to go away," Valdez said. "You'll always have people who can't afford lawyers. Going into it, you want to make sure they have enough knowledge."