New charges filed in legal-advice case

Three more charges of practicing law without a license have been filed against a North Charleston man, bringing his total to six.

David Lee Edward Mitchell, 64, remained at the Charleston County jail Monday afternoon on a total of $225,000 in bail, including six allegations of unauthorized practice of law.

In the latest cases, filed by North Charleston police, Mitchell is accused of taking hundreds of dollars from three subjects to represent them, friends or family members on various criminal charges.

As in other cases, the representation came with the advice that all three should ask to have their taxpayer-provided public defender removed as their counsel, police spokesperson Spencer Pryor said.

In one of the cases, Mitchell reportedly said he had three lawyers that work with him, a North Charleston police incident report said, quoting a woman who'd approached Mitchell about his services.

Mitchell, 64, was already being held in the jail on three counts of passing himself off as legal expert when the new charges were filed. The S.C. Bar does not list an attorney licensed to practice under Mitchell's name. Each offense draws up to five years in state prison.

An attorney appointed to represent Mitchell said Monday it was too early in the case to comment, and that he had not met with his client to review the allegations.

If Mitchell is released on bail, conditions of his bond include requirements that he not appear within one block of any jail in the state unless he is being held there, or that he ever give advice under the guise of being a lawyer, paralegal or legal expert.

Officials said the number of cases could rise, as other complaints brought to the attention of authorities in North Charleston and in Charleston County are currently being explored.

Mitchell earlier had identified himself as a former evangelist who now operates the Refreshing Springs Christian Fellowship.

Another enterprise that he identified as running is called The People's Advocate.