UPL Defendant Stays in Jail Because He Won’t Sign Promise Not to Practice

A Topeka, Kan., businessman who ran a company called Pro Se Advocates remains in jail because he won’t sign a document promising he won’t practice law.

The Kansas Supreme Court found businessman David Price in contempt of court on Aug. 6 for practicing law without a license, the Associated Press reports. The high court said Price could be released if he signs a document promising not to practice law; so far he hasn’t obliged and his wife says he won’t do it, the story says.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia refused to free Price, saying the matter had to be resolved by state rather than federal courts.

Meanwhile, a persistent Southern California man is also in trouble for unauthorized practice, according to a different story by the Associated Press. Harold Goldstein had been sent to prison in 2003 for using the name of an actual lawyer to represent clients. Days after his May 1 release, Goldstein was accused of posing as a lawyer once again. He was sentenced to two more years in prison for violating the terms of his release.