Noted: Advice by notary publics often a problem for undocumented immigrants
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October 5, 2008 - 11:28AM
McClatchy News Service
mmigration lawyers here and across the country say they are seeing a growing number of unknowing, undocumented immigrants fall victim to notary publics who improperly practice law.

Without proper authorization and professional training, some notaries are dispensing legal advice on how to get work permits, residency status and driver's licenses, lawyers say.

``We've been aware for years that this has been a problem,'' said Timothy Reiniger, executive director for the National Notary Association. ``Anywhere there are clusters of immigrants, or communities of immigrants, we have been hearing of these experiences.''

In many Latin American countries, a notario publico is a lawyer with broad legal powers, a highly educated and highly trained counselor.

In this country, notaries are generally limited to certifying documents, taking affidavits and administering oaths.

That difference, though, is often lost in translation.

``By the civil law systems, they're used to a notario publico being almost at a judge level,'' Reiniger said. ``They're not aware that notary publics in our common law system are not of that status. It makes them very susceptible to being abused.''

Because of this problem, the National Notary Association put out a series of recommended statutes earlier this decade to quell the abuses. Many states have incorporated them into laws.

Advocates of the changes insisted that innocent people, regardless of their legal status, deserve protection from con artists and other criminals.

In North Carolina, notaries are prohibited from representing themselves as immigration consultants or experts on immigration matters. State law requires notaries to post this information in languages their clients will understand.

Tom Fulghum, a Durham lawyer often called in to clean up the messes of notaries who go beyond the bounds of the law, has seen too many bungled cases.

``I get really mad about this issue,'' Fulghum said. ``When I started practicing immigration law, more than 50 percent of my clients had come to me with cases that were really, really wrecked.''

The N.C. State Bar, which regulates and oversees lawyers in this state, gets complaints about the unauthorized practice of law and posts warnings on its Web site when accusations prove valid.

But because regulation of notaries falls outside the bar's oversight, punitive action is rarely taken.

The Secretary of State's Office investigates complaints and occasionally revokes licenses and takes cases to court. In Durham recently, a notary was convicted of more than 30 counts of fraud after dispensing legal advice without proper license.

Immigration lawyers estimate that such incidents are underreported because many victims are afraid to come forward or have been deported.

``Everybody's terrified to report these things because they don't want to get deported,'' Fulghum said.

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