Convicted Attorney Faces Bar Discipline
A story in the Columbus Dispatch details information about a number of convicted Ohio attorneys
Nearly a dozen lawyers a year are convicted of felonies in Ohio, but few face the kind of charges that are likely to send Javier Armengau to prison.
“The ones I’m aware of usually fall into two groups — stealing or embezzling from clients and drug charges due to an addiction,” said S. Michael Miller, who served as Franklin County prosecutor for more than 17 years before becoming a defense attorney in 1996. “It’s very rarely anything involving violence.”
A Franklin County jury convicted Armengau on Monday of single counts of rape, kidnapping and public indecency, four counts of sexual battery and two counts of gross sexual imposition. The victims were two clients and the mother of a client.
The rape and kidnapping convictions mean that the 52-year-old Armengau is likely to be sent to prison when he is sentenced on Aug. 12. The maximum sentence for all the convictions, if imposed consecutively, would be 41 years.
Yesterday, Common Pleas Judge David W. Fais refused to declare a mistrial in the case. Armengau’s attorneys had argued that prosecutors should have told them that an accuser who traveled from Venezuela to testify at the trial had asked the prosecution to help her stay in the United States.
“The court finds no evidence that the state had any agreement, express or tacit, with (the woman) regarding her green card or immigration status,” Fais wrote. “The court further finds that although (she) clearly expressed that she was disappointed by the lack of help she received from the prosecution, her subjective want or need for help regarding her immigration status is not evidence that there was a mutual understanding or agreement that the prosecution would help (her) in exchange for her testimony.”
The Ohio Supreme Court suspended Armengau’s law license on an interim basis the day after his conviction. The decision was in response to a June 16 request by the Columbus Bar Association, although an automatic suspension typically occurs as soon as the court receives a certified copy of a felony conviction for a lawyer.
On Wednesday, the bar association appointed Columbus lawyer Dennis McNamara to begin reviewing Armengau’s files to determine whether any of his clients need help finding a new attorney. Armengau continued to practice law and obtain clients until his conviction.
Clients who paid Armengau for legal services that weren’t rendered and are unable to recover their money can file a claim with the Supreme Court’s client security fund, said bar counsel Bruce Campbell. Information is available at 1-800-231-1680.
Pat Sheeran, administrative judge for Franklin County Common Pleas Court, said he instructed the clerk’s office to send a memo to all of Armengau’s Franklin County clients to alert them to their next court date.
Those who are unaware of his license suspension will learn about it and their need for a new attorney when they appear in court, he said.
The article also identifies other Ohio attorneys convicted of felony offenses.
A Dispatch report on the jury verdict quotes one of the defense attorneys.
Jennifer Coriell, one of Armengau’s attorneys, called the verdicts “a miscarriage of justice in every way” and said an appeal will be filed. She said the accusers’ testimony included inconsistencies and the judge allowed jurors to hear “a lot of testimony that should have been kept out.”
(Mike Frisch)