Her Granddaughter’s Mother

 An attorney who has been reprimanded by the Ohio Supreme Court for the following

by signing the name of her granddaughter’s mother to an affidavit, notarizing the document without noting that she had signed it with the affiant’s authorization, and then filing the document in a guardianship proceeding that was pending in the Cuyahoga County Probate Court.

The court

[Attorney] Wilson argued that a public reprimand is the appropriate sanction for her misconduct here. In support of that sanction, she cited Disciplinary Counsel v. Mezacapa , 101 Ohio St.3d 156, 2004-Ohio-302, 803 N.E.2d 397 (publicly reprimanding an attorney who notarized his own signing of the client’s name on an affidavit without noting on the document that he had obtained permission to sign it on the client’s behalf). She also noted that this is the first time she has been charged with misconduct in her 33½ years of practice; that her actions were driven by her concern for her grandchild’s welfare; and that her conduct caused no actual harm because the court in which the document was filed did not have jurisdiction over the matter, and but for the court’s dismissal on that ground, she would have withdrawn the motion herself.

While acknowledging that an improper notarization alone typically warrants only a public reprimand, relator argued that in addition to the improper notarization of the affidavit, Wilson also sent a text message to Danielle instructing her to tell the magistrate that she had signed the document. Based on this additional act, relator argued that the appropriate sanction for Wilson’s  misconduct is a six-month suspension, all stayed on the condition that she engage in no further misconduct.

The court concluded that cases involving suspension were distinguishable. (Mike Frisch)