Don’t Look In The Basement
A misdemeanor conviction for permitting drug use on premises has drawn a stayed six-month suspension from the Ohio Supreme Court.
In 2011, while in law school, Glaser leased a house in Cincinnati. Her minor daughter and then long-time boyfriend, Jackie Sanders, lived in the home with her, although Sanders’s name was not on the lease. Glaser claims that while she was in school, her relationship with Sanders began deteriorating: he was not permanently employed, he was drinking heavily, and he could be abusive to her at times. In 2013, after graduating from law school, Glaser began working at the Hamilton County Public Defender’s Office. She claims that at that point, she and Sanders were essentially living in separate areas of the house and that she planned on moving out.
However, in January 2014, the police conducted a search of the home and found various illegal drugs, two digital scales, and a gun registered in Glaser’s name that was stuffed with heroin. Sanders was later charged with and pled guilty to several felonies, including trafficking in and possession of heroin, trafficking in cocaine, and having a weapon while under a disability. He was sentenced to 24 months in prison. Glaser was charged with knowingly permitting drug abuse on her premises, a fifth-degree felony, but she ultimately pled guilty to the lesser attempt charge. Following her plea, she was sentenced to pay a $100 fine.
At her disciplinary hearing, Glaser acknowledged that she had had concerns about the number of people that Sanders was permitting to come into the basement area of her home and about whether those individuals were engaging in any criminal activity. But she further testified that she had not known that Sanders had cocaine or heroin in the home, that she had not placed the heroin in her gun, and that she had never seen the digital scales in her house. She also testified that she has no plans to continue her relationship with Sanders once he is released from prison.
The court found no aggravating factors.
Six-month suspension but
with the entire suspension stayed on the conditions that she (1) submit to an assessment for domestic abuse by a professional affiliated with the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program or by another qualified professional and comply with any recommendations made as a result of that assessment, (2) submit to monitoring by an attorney due to Glaser’s new-lawyer status, (3) refrain from any further misconduct, and (4) pay the costs of these proceedings. If Glaser fails to comply with the conditions of the stay, the stay shall be lifted and she shall serve the full six-month suspension.
(Mike Frisch)