One of the first companies to take advantage of the Open Gaming License and the d20 System Trademark License was Necromancer Games, under the leadership of Clark Peterson - a popular and generous man, and a good friend to EN World and to the gaming community as a whole. It seems now that Clark has come under a bit of fire because of his gaming connections and how this allegedly conflicts with his job as a judge in Idaho.The Spokesman Review's Scott Maben has posted an article entitled Kootenai County judge’s job, fantasy game hobby blur together which contains remarks like "Many know him as the demon prince Orcus, Lord of the Undead" and accuses him of, amongst other things, immaturity. It even mentions at one point that "he posts well past midnight" and that on his birthday he posted a message on Paizo's messageboards during his lunchbreak. At one point, a complainant claims that "We don’t know if he’s demon lord in the courtroom or if he’s Judge Peterson in the courtroom".
A couple of people in cases which Clark presided over claim that his gaming hobby "falls short of the high standards of conduct expected of judges" and are preparing to file complaints. Peterson himself says "I continue to believe that my hobby activity does not violate any of the canons of judicial conduct, but the perception of the public and the litigants who appear before me is of paramount importance to me."
Clark Peterson's colleague Judge Haynes said Peterson is "extraordinarily engaged in his work.... rather than being distracted, I find him to be an extraordinarily focused judge on the cases that are before him".
I can't speak for anyone else, but I hope that this whole broohah dies down and things work out OK for Clark.
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