# It is implausible that pchaos is a lawyer and he should stop claiming to be one **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 14, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316 "2013-02-14T20:34:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 38
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/741 "2013-02-20T20:15:43Z")
Don’t want to be posting, but am. In Texas defamation includes criticism of professional services to an extent the person is a professional. Have no idea of general rules/law in other states such that I’d post here. But a plaintiff in such a defamation case need not prove actual damages… Just a thought and again, as always, I am not your lawyer, this isn’t legal advice just merely a casual observance and I’m not your lawyer. We all like posting on message boards and like to do so here, right? So let’s all just get along! ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/742 "2013-02-20T20:17:17Z")
Of course truth can be a defense… This assumes the same disclaimers in previous post. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/743 "2013-02-20T20:24:19Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > In Texas defamation includes criticism of professional services to an extent the person is a professional. But he’s not posting under his real name, so we’re just ‘defaming’ an anonymous user-name, not an actual, known professional-type person. Technically, we don’t know if he’s even a lawyer, so I feel quite safe in defaming his professional qualifications in this case, although I prefer to question his actual religious denomination. He doesn’t sound like _any_ of the _many_ Catholics I’ve known. Including me, when I count the _ex_-Catholics. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/744 "2013-02-20T20:26:58Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Don’t want to be posting, but am. In Texas defamation includes criticism of professional services to an extent the person is a professional. Have no idea of general rules/law in other states such that I’d post here. But a plaintiff in such a defamation case need not prove actual damages.. > > Just a thought and again, as always, I am not your lawyer, this isn’t legal advice just merely a casual observance and I’m not your lawyer. We all like posting on message boards and like to do so here, right? So let’s all just get along! Please insert a “can” before the phrase ‘includes professional services’ change the ‘includes’ to ‘include’ and continue the same disclaimers. ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/745 "2013-02-20T20:27:15Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Don’t want to be posting, but am. In Texas defamation includes criticism of professional services to an extent the person is a professional. Have no idea of general rules/law in other states such that I’d post here. But a plaintiff in such a defamation case need not prove actual damages.. > > Just a thought and again, as always, I am not your lawyer, this isn’t legal advice just merely a casual observance and I’m not your lawyer. We all like posting on message boards and like to do so here, right? So let’s all just get along! sheesh - at the risk of learning something in a pit thread - I know of no post here that has criticized anything but said person’s behaviour and posts on this board - therefore, it would not amount to ‘criticism of professional services’ and is more of a questioning of the alleged ability of said person to perform the above adequately based on said posters history here and here alone (with some external evidence provided that this not the first time that said competence has been questioned). Herewith and forthwith and shit. ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/746 "2013-02-20T20:34:23Z")
Ah well, glad anything I’ve said.hasn’t continued the current posts. Again, not your lawyer, not advice, most probably not licensed in your jurisdiction or know specifics of law. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/747 "2013-02-20T22:30:10Z")
Like I said, someone has to be the worst lawyer in the world. But speaking personally, [**pchaos** is making it harder than ever to believe he’s for real.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16027862#post16027862) ---
**Author:** ![R3d\_Anonymous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aeb1de/32.png) [@R3d\_Anonymous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R3d_Anonymous)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/748 "2013-02-20T23:39:23Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Like I said, someone has to be the worst lawyer in the world. But speaking personally, [**pchaos** is making it harder than ever to believe he’s for real.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16027862#post16027862) From the other thread: > [@Let's Abolish the Institution of Marriage.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-abolish-the-institution-of-marriage/650788/81): > > And yes, **pchaos** , it’s not hard to stay current with a law that hasn’t changed in 118 years. Yeah, that was a lame-ass excuse by **pchaos** when he said that it’s hard to stay current with the law because the law in question hasn’t changed in 118 years! He should have admitted defeat after you told him that California hasn’t recognized common law marriages since the nineteenth century rather than coming up with excuses. > [@Let's Abolish the Institution of Marriage.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-abolish-the-institution-of-marriage/650788/81): > > Either don’t give legal advice or make sure you know what you are talking about - **preferably the first one.** 😃 Yeah, **pchaos** giving incorrect legal advice is potentially dangerous. What if some poster actually takes him seriously? When **pchaos** claims to be an attorney he may be taken more seriously than he should be. ---
**Author:** ![deltasigma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e5b9ba/32.png) [@deltasigma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deltasigma)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/749 "2013-02-20T23:54:04Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Like I said, someone has to be the worst lawyer in the world. But speaking personally, [**pchaos** is making it harder than ever to believe he’s for real.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=16027862#post16027862) OMG, that is just fucking sad. It’s like hitting a zombie over the head with a 2x4 over and over. It just doesn’t seem to have any effect. Amazing! 😕 :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/750 "2013-02-21T01:19:29Z")
> [@Anonymous User](#): > > Yeah, **pchaos** giving incorrect legal advice is potentially dangerous. What if some poster actually takes him seriously? They deserve what they get. If his rates are low, it’s probably because his clients wind up broke. > [@](#): > > When **pchaos** claims to be an attorney he may be taken more seriously than he should be. Fortunately **pchaos** does everything he can to prevent anyone from taking him seriously. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/751 "2013-02-21T02:49:38Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Please insert a “can” before the phrase ‘includes professional services’ change the ‘includes’ to ‘include’ and continue the same disclaimers. Hey! You can’t get out of it _that_ easily. You said it, **pchaos** is going to sue you over it! ETA: but he couldn’t win a suit over a dog shitting on his lawn, even with pictures, so there’s that… ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/752 "2013-02-21T03:06:07Z")
> [@BottledBlondJeanie](#): > > Ah well, glad anything I’ve said.hasn’t continued the current posts. Again, not your lawyer, not advice, most probably not licensed in your jurisdiction or know specifics of law. Oh, oh, oh, Oh, yeah, OH YEAH! Disclaimer me! DISCLAIMER ME, AGAIN!! You’re my favorite lawyer… err **pchaos** is my favorite lawyer… [checks forum][sub] yeah, it’s the Pit, I can get away with that… [/sub][/forum check] ---
**Author:** ![BottledBlondJeanie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/0ea827/32.png) [@BottledBlondJeanie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BottledBlondJeanie)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/753 "2013-02-21T03:24:28Z")
You can read, right? I’d suggest a reread of the thread in the nicest, non-sarcastic way please. ---
**Author:** ![Robb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a183cd/32.png) [@Robb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robb)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/754 "2013-02-21T03:25:19Z")
**pchaos** , good luck with whatever it is you think you are doing. But, I award you zero points and may god have mercy on your soul. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/755 "2013-02-21T05:03:16Z")
From that other thread (where pchaos was disturbingly specific with his “CA has Common Law Marriage” advice): > [@Let's Abolish the Institution of Marriage.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-abolish-the-institution-of-marriage/650788/77): > > Sorry, for the bad advice. It’s hard to stay current with the law. My feeling has always been, attorneys shouldn’t have to go to other attorneys for advice. Once law becomes that complicated the society is going downhill. > [@Let's Abolish the Institution of Marriage.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lets-abolish-the-institution-of-marriage/650788/80): > > :rolleyes: > > Son, just admit that you aren’t an attorney. A real attorney who specialized in other fields than family law would have been careful not to offer an opinion on family law that can be easily disproved by a few seconds of googling. As for “it’s hard to stay current”, a few seconds of googling reveals that California abolished common law marriage in 1895. That’s, lets see, math is hard, 118 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/756 "2013-02-21T07:29:43Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Admin law is a whole different kettle of fish. Yeah, it’s pretty smelly. The good news is that I got to recycle part of a brief I wrote on due process in admin law where I got to, for a second time, include the parenthetical (holding that a ceiling is not a floor) in a cite. ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 7:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/757 "2013-02-21T07:46:28Z")
FWIW, I think ya’lll are barking up the wrong tree. It seems to me **pchaos** is an attorney as claimed. An idiot, sure, but obviously those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Take his mistake about the _Marvin_ case. In fact, that was based on contract law rather than common law marriage. But the two theories are pretty close for someone not practicing in that particular field. (Indeed, I only know the difference because I’m kind of wonky that way.) When I’ll care about his claimed credentials is in a thread about an actual legal topic. Stated a little differently, if ya’ll want to press **pchaos** on his credentials, ask him how he thinks the Supreme Court will rule on the dog sniff cases pending this term. THAT will tell us more about whether he’s a poseur than haggling over Catholicism vs. atheism. Even if it’s not his field (nor mine), he should be able to remember enough Con Law from school to express an intelligible opinion. ---
**Author:** ![PBear42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PBear42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PBear42)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/758 "2013-02-21T08:36:19Z")
BTW, for context, here’s a prior [thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=667243&highlight=sniff) on the dog sniff issue. ---
**Author:** ![Molesworth\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Molesworth\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Molesworth_2)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/759 "2013-02-21T11:10:19Z")
> [@pchaos](#): > > No, you’re right I’ve been a jerk and no excuses, I knew better. But believe it or not, if I didn’t think I was learning new stuff, I wouldn’t be coming back. I get enough abuse from my nephew who thinks I’m just part of the Establishment. I don’t need more from you guys…a joke or two here and there that would be nice. Son, you really shouldn’t be posting here, let alone starting threads, if you’re expecting jokes in return. I like to think of myself as a pretty smart guy. But many of the posters here are actual polymaths and true intellectuals. That’s why I come here: to ask questions when I’m curious about something. I know that the people here are mostly smarter and more educated than myself I only engage in debate here when I am 100% sure of what I’m talking about. You might consider following that policy yourself in the future. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316/760 "2013-02-21T13:14:15Z")
> [@PBear42](#): > > Stated a little differently, if ya’ll want to press **pchaos** on his credentials, ask him how he thinks the Supreme Court will rule on the dog sniff cases pending this term. THAT will tell us more about whether he’s a poseur than haggling over Catholicism vs. atheism. Actually, that raises a different point. The whole premise of this thread is that it’s implausible the guy is a lawyer. Why? Because he posts demonstrably false stuff that lawyers wouldn’t typically say? In that case, it’d be just as easy to start a thread entitled _“It is implausible that pchaos is a theist”_ – as per the latest post over in another anti- **pchaos** thread: [QUOTE=Locrian] Reading the pit thread is insurmountable evidence that religion /faith is harmful, possibly because of the lack of common sense is not a factor when believing absolute bullshit. And by bullshit I mean the religion, and meaning of it, that you create yourself. [/QUOTE] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316.md?page=37) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-implausible-that-pchaos-is-a-lawyer-and-he-should-stop-claiming-to-be-one/650316.md?page=39)