Baseball Heir And Adjunct Professor Denied Reinstatement After Sexual Misconduct
Former law professor and heir to the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins baseball franchise Clark Calvin Griffith has been denied reinstatement by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
His father sold the franchise and he went into the law
Griffith was admitted to practice law in Minnesota in 1986. In 2013 we suspended Griffith indefinitely with no right to petition for reinstatement for a minimum of 90 days due to his: (1) sexual harassment of a law student that he was supervising at William Mitchell College of Law (WMCL); and (2) attempts to pressure the law student into recanting her complaints against him. In re Griffith, 838 N.W.2d 792, 793 (Minn. 2013).
On January 24, 2012, Griffith, an adjunct professor, and the law student met at a restaurant in Saint Paul as part of an independent study clinic. As Griffith has stipulated, during the meeting, he “engaged in verbal and physical conduct and communications of a sexual nature that were not welcomed by [the student] and heightened her feelings of discomfort with [Griffith].” The meeting ended and Griffith walked the student to her car. As Griffith has further stipulated, he then “unzipped his pants, exposed his penis to [the student], and then took [the student’s] hand and forced her to touch his penis.”
The next day the student reported the incident to WMCL. WMCL directed Griffith to have no contact with the student, but he continued to call, text, and send messages. These communications included multiple attempts by Griffith to convince the student to recant the complaints she made to authorities. WMCL was notified of the communications and sent Griffith a second notice to have no contact with the student. Griffith again disregarded the instruction and contacted the student to ask why she had filed a criminal complaint against him. The student told Griffith to stop contacting her. WMCL conducted an investigation into the incident and terminated Griffith’s employment. On June 12, 2012, Griffith entered an Alford plea and was found guilty of indecent exposure.
The court
Griffith makes three specific arguments, none of which has merit. First, Griffith contends that the panel erred in failing to fully consider evidence that his misconduct was the result of an adverse reaction to prescribed medication. Although the panel allowed Griffith to testify on the subject, and he stated that a medical condition “caused the problem,” the panel denied his request to submit testimony by, or a report from, a neurologist. The panel did not err because Griffith’s disclosure of medical evidence was untimely…
Second, Griffith argues that the panel did not give proper weight to his witnesses’ testimony…
Finally, Griffith contends that he was not able to fully express himself regarding his understanding and appreciation of the harm the student experienced because she has sued him. He suggests that, because her civil attorneys were present at the panel hearing, he was inhibited from delivering candid testimony. If so, it was a problem of his own making. Griffith chose to petition for reinstatement while the student’s civil lawsuit against him was pending. He knew, or should have known, that the panel hearing was public…
In summary, we are not left with a definite and firm conviction that the panel erred. Griffith is not entitled to reinstatement at this time because he failed to prove by clear and convincing evidence that he has recognized the wrongfulness of his conduct and has undergone the requisite moral change.
Strike one. (Mike Frisch)