Law practice After law school, Pope began to practice law in Washington, earning a reputation as a combative attorney. He has been cautioned by the
Washington State Bar Association and fined by the state Court of Appeals. In 2006 he was removed from a case after informing the presiding judge that his mental health was "terrible" and that he suffered from "serious depression". Pope's law license was ultimately reinstated but he was reprimanded by the
Washington State Bar Association in 2012 for misconduct in an unrelated matter. Pope is currently licensed to practice law in Washington but does not carry malpractice insurance.
Political campaigns Pope has been elected and served as a
Republican precinct committee officer, but has failed in at least a dozen attempts at higher office, running as both a Republican and a
Democrat. Despite his record of electoral failure, Pope has been called by
HorsesAss "several steps above the crank perennial candidates" and "the most cost-efficient candidate this state has ever seen," regularly coming in second place in his races and scoring double-digit percentages of the vote. In his 2007 run against incumbent
King County Council member
Jane Hague, Pope received 41-percent of the vote, despite spending less than $35,000 on his campaign, compared to Hague's $433,000. His
2000 run against incumbent Attorney-General
Christine Gregoire netted 636,738 votes, 38-percent of the total. Among other offices he's sought are those of
Shoreline city councilor, Shoreline Water District commissioner,
Port of Seattle commissioner,
King County assessor, and
King County prosecutor. Pope's best showing was in a non-partisan district court judge race in which he earned 44-percent of the vote. During a campaign for
Port of Seattle commission in 2005, he successfully lodged complaints against incumbent Pat Davis' financial reporting that resulted in a $10,000 fine against Davis. Research Pope conducted into the
King County Republican Party's finances exposed errors in campaign disclosures that resulted in the levy of $40,000 in fines. During the
2006 United States Senate election in Washington, Pope dug-up records of
Green Party candidate
Aaron Dixon's unpaid child support, posting it to the comments sections of local blogs and helping to sink Dixon's upstart campaign. ==Personal life==