So, is this good news? Or bad news for the paralegal profession?
"A Wailuku paralegal who said she ‘filled in the blanks’ for a customer on a divorce form has been acquitted [emphasis added] of a charge of unauthorized practice of law.
"Kitty Atchley, 54, was found guilty [emphasis added] of two misdemeanor counts of unsworn falsification to authorities for documents she filed in court as part of a divorce case in 2005.
"Atchley said she filed a document indicating the woman’s husband had been served with divorce papers in Kihei, even though Marten-Naidenko had told her he was in Russia.
"She continued filing documents even after Marten-Naidenko called Atchley to ‘pull the plug on the divorce,’ Atchley said, because she believed the woman was in an abusive relationship and feared for her safety. Atchley said she was following the woman’s earlier instructions not to stop the divorce proceedings no matter what she said."