Charles Bryfogle, formerly of Bella Coola, has been found guilty on eight counts of being in contempt of court and is forbidden from filing legal documents on behalf of himself or others.
The 74-year-old man wrongfully acted as a lawyer and created legal documents, and has subsequently been banned from entering any courthouse in British Columbia.
The B.C. Law Society wanted to see Bryfogle go to jail for 21 days, but Justice Victoria Gray handed him a three-year suspended sentence and said he will jailed if he breaches his probation terms.
Brydogle has been declared a "vexatious litigant" in both B.C. and Arizona. The term applies to people who consistently engage in court actions that harass people or undermine the justice system.
Gray called Bryfogle's conduct troubling.
“Mr. Bryfogle is not a lawyer and has never been a lawyer,” she wrote in a decision released Friday.
An Alberta man in the gallery stood up to blame Gray for becoming involved in his family matter. That action formed one of the contempt findings against Bryfogle.
“I’m one of the people molested by this lunatic,” Rene Messier yelled at Gray.
“He abuses the system year after year. . . . You let him walk — you should be ashamed.”
This is the second time Bryfogle has been found in contempt of court orders to remove himself from any legal proceedings or filings, whether on his own behalf or others.
There are judgements against Bryfogle for wrongly practicing law dating to 2006 and 2007. Those findings come under the Legal Profession Act and the Court Agent Act.
His past legal misadventures included representing litigants in mercury poisoning from dental work; creating a trust document; a lawsuit involving a motor vehicle accident; and slander and defamation against his own family. At times he has been paid for his work. He breached terms of orders requiring him to inform the B.C. Law Society of any legal action.
While Gray declined to send the 74 year old to jail, Bryfogle will go to prison if he breaches the probation terms. She gave him a three-year suspended sentence.
Those terms included that he not enter a courthouse unless he is charged with a crime or with written permission of a probation official. He cannot file legal documents on behalf of himself or others. He must also serve 100 hours of community service.
Bryfogle currently serves as a Trustee of the Hagensborg Water District.