Published: November 14, 2008 11:58 pm      

Hampshire man vindicated by W.Va. Bar

CUMBERLAND — A West Virginia Bar Committee has vindicated a Springfield man accused of illegally practicing law by an Eastern Panhandle judge, according to The West Virginia Record.

The complaints of Berkeley Family Law Judge Sally Jackson in the 24th Circuit’s 2nd Division against Fred Schermerhorn and a Virginia mediator were without substance, the committee ruled last month before dismissing her accusations.

The committee said it would issue a warning to Schermerhorn about being careful not to cross the line between political advocacy and rendering legal advice.

Schermerhorn told the media that he had not been provided the basis of the complaint but strongly suspects it results from a letter to the editor he wrote that was published in January in The Journal in Martinsburg.

The letter encouraged anyone going through a divorce with children to contact Men and Women Against Discrimination, a Vienna-based children’s advocacy group, for advice in dealing with the court system.

A federal prison guard by profession, Schermerhorn serves as a regional coordinator for the group on a voluntary basis.