LEWISTON, Maine (AP) A former lawyer and failed Republican candidate for district attorney in Maine has been charged with practicing law without a license.

The Sun Journal reports 44-year-old Seth Carey pleaded not guilty to the misdemeanor charge.

The state Attorney General’s Office says Carey practiced law or represented himself as a lawyer from April to November in 2018, when he was not admitted to the State Bar Association.

Carey was on an interim suspension during that time as a result of a protection from abuse order.

A judge later ruled his license suspended for three years.

Carey’s attorney James Howaniec called the complaint “overkill” Wednesday, and says he plans to appeal the judge’s decision.

Howaniec says Carey has not taken new clients or accepted legal fees during his suspension.