This opinion was /PTUE IM CLERKS OFFICE filed for record at on /» ::^90 ®JPREk!i CCUJCT, STATE OF VXSiSHMi _ ?EB n f; 2 Susan L. Carlson Supreme Court Clerk 0/^GHUsir jaSTi IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON STATE OF WASHINGTON, Respondent, No. 96775-0 NAZIYR YISHMAEL, Petitioner. Filed FEB 0 fi 20211 Gonzalez,J.— Admission to the practice of law requires years of graduate level study either with a practicing lawyer or at a law school. It requires passage of a rigorous bar examination on a wide range of topics. In addition, bar applicants must satisfy character and fitness requirements. Once admitted, lawyers join a noble profession and become officers ofthe court, obligated to conduct themselves ethically under the Rules of Professional Conduct. When lawyers break the rules, they are subject to discipline. When lawfully practicing attorneys cause harm, malpractice insurance and the victims' compensation fund can provide some relief for their clients. State V. Yishmael, No. 96775-0 By contrast, the unlawful practice of law often causes harm without any of the protections for malpractice by lawyers. Because these harms are predictable, the unlawful practice of law is a crime. RCW 2.48.180(3). This case is illustrative. Victims in this case became homeless, were jailed, and lost almost everything they owned. This court has the "exclusive power to regulate the practice of law," and in accordance with constitutional separation of powers principles, our legislature has not attempted to define the "practice of law." Hagen & Van Camp, P.S. v. Kassler Escrow, Inc., 96 Wn.2d 443, 445, 635 P.2d 730(1981)(citing Wash. Const, art. IV, § 1). The "practice of law," however, has been defined in common law and, more recently, a court rule, GR 24. Naziyr Yishmael, who is not an attorney, advised clients that they could "homestead" in apparently abandoned properties and, after a period of time, acquire title through adverse possession. After some of his clients were arrested for taking up residence in other people's houses, he was charged with and convicted of misdemeanor unlawful practice of law. He contends his conviction must be reversed for five reasons. He contends the jury was improperly instructed that the unlawful practice oflaw is a strict liability offense. He contends the court's use of GR 24 to define the practice of law violates separation of powers; he contends this use amounts to a comment on the evidence. He contends that the State V. Yishmael,'Sio. 96775-0 Statute is unconstitutionally vague. Finally, he contends that there was insufficient evidence presented to sustain his conviction. Finding no en"or, we affirm. Facts In October 2014, four people were arrested. They were among many people who had been advised by Yishmael that they could take up residence in apparently abandoned foreclosed homes and, by changing the locks, moving in, improving the properties, and filing a variety of papers with the recorder's office, acquire title through adverse possession. Yishmael charged $7,000-$8,000 for his advice and assistance in adversely possessing homes. His clients also spent thousands of dollars ...
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