Draft:Donald J. Netolitzky



Dr. Donald John Netolitzky is a Canadian microbiologist, jurist and legal researcher who specialises in researching and working with frivolous and abusive litigants and analysing courts and court processes. He is known as one of the leading academics on pseudolaw in Commonwealth jurisdictions.

Microbiological career
Netolitzky initially trained as a microbiologist at the University of Calgary between 1984 and 1988, where he obtained his BSc, working as a summer intern at the Defence Research Establishment Suffield (DRES) in Alberta. Upon gratuating, Netolitzky continued to work with DRES on the subject of Newcastle disease whilst working towards his PhD, which he obtained in 1995. Upon graduating, Netolitzky took up various academic positions at the University of Alberta and at Medicine Hat College over a period of several years, whilst continuing to work on and off for the Canadian Department of National Defence, conducting microbiological research.

Legal career
In 2002, Netolitzky returned to the University of Alberta to study law, gaining a law degree in 2005. He later joined the Alberta Court of King's Bench as a staff lawyer, working at the court since 2007, serving as Complex Litigant Management Counsel between then and 2024. He took silk in 2022, and claims himself to be "not really interested in law [or] legal theory " but instead "targets quantifying court processes and investigation of pseudolaw phenomena." He eventually gained an LLM in 2020.

Pseudolaw
Netolitzky is best known for his research into pseudolaw and in handling other types of "complex litigant", writing at length on the subject. Netolitzky's own work has been widely cited across common-law jurisdictions, including outside of Canada, such as in New Zealand, Australia , and has been submitted to the United States Congress as part of a congressional inquiry into the January 6 Capitol riot. He is regarded as a leading scholar in the field.

He has assisted judges of the Alberta Court of King's Bench in the preparation of judgments into pseudolaw and other unrepresented and complex litigants, including Meads v. Meads, a well-known and frequently-read case which has been cited throughout the English speaking world, in the United States and England and Wales, as well as in guidance issued to judges. Netolitzky later explored the significance of Meads in an academic article. He has also participated in the preparation of other well-known judgments on the subject of complex litigants.

Netolitzky has argued for an improved understanding of pseudolaw, which he describes as "a collection of legal-sounding but false rules that purport to be law", not dissimilar to a form of "memetic virus". He has proposed a six-prong theory of pseudolaw. Netolitzky has also written widely on the history of pseudolaw, as well as researching judicial responses to pseudolaw.

Other work
Beyond the field of pseudolaw, Netolitzky has also written widely on a range of of other "complex litigants", especially self-representing litigants (SRLs). He has also spoken and written about litigants with mental health issues, advocating for better understanding of such issues.

Some of his other research has involved different facets of court administration and business such as analysis of court deadlines, or the evolution over time of litigation activity.