State says it erred on sealing of conviction

The county prosecutor's opinion is correct.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- An Ohio attorney general's office spokesman admitted the department erred when it said that former Youngstown Councilman Herman Hill's theft-in-office conviction couldn't be sealed or expunged.
An initial opinion given Friday to The Vindicator stated the attorney general's office believed the request by Hill to seal his 1997 conviction couldn't be granted by a judge.
But after further research and questioning by the newspaper, the attorney general's office stated Monday that a 1988 Ohio Supreme Court decision does permit someone convicted of theft in office to apply and receive an expungement.
Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains, who filed a response not objecting to the sealing of Hill's request, had strongly disagreed with the attorney general's initial opinion.
"I did the research and I was confident I was correct," Gains said. "When I first saw it I thought the same thing, but then I read the law and rendered my opinion. I was correct, and I feel vindicated."
Judge to decide
Judge C. Ashley Pike of Columbiana County Common Pleas Court, the visiting judge assigned by the Ohio Supreme Court to Hill's case, expects to decide by the end of the year whether to seal Hill's record.
The attorney general's office and Gains said even if Hill's record is expunged he can never run for public office again.
While he was 3rd Ward councilman, Hill was sentenced in December 1997 for theft in office. He spent 10 days in a halfway house for using a phony receipt to cover up his use of a city credit card to buy a $2,400 computer for personal use.
For the past five years, Hill has served as Youngstown coordinator of YouthBuild, a program for kids that combines continued education and life skills with teaching construction skills.
Under state law, Hill is permitted to request the felony conviction be expunged because he hasn't committed any other crimes since the 1997 conviction, Gains said.
skolnick@vindy.com