Broken Pledge

An Ohio attorney engaged in ethical misconduct in two matters. One involved a deed that the attorney had falsely signed and notarized. He had denied the misconduct until the bar retained a handwriting expert. The second matter involved a promise he made to the Ohio Supreme Court in the false notarization matter– “he pledged to this court that he would never have another drink, and would never again use marijuana or cocaine. Six days later, [he] was arrested for possession of cocaine. [He]  also admitted that prior to his arrest he had consumed several alcoholic beverages.” He pled guilty to cocaine possession.

The court imposed a two-year suspension with the second year stayed on conditions that include monitoring of his law practice and sobriety. A dissent finds a “troubling tendency toward recidivism” and lack of control that would warrant an indefinite suspension. (Mike Frisch)