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Dann to appear before state panel
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Former Attorney General Marc Dann, who resigned his post amid scandal and was later convicted on related charges, is scheduled to appear before a state disciplinary panel considering how the case will affect his law license.
The Supreme Court’s Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline is set to hear Dann’s case on Thursday at the 8th District Court of Appeals in Cleveland. The session is scheduled for 10 a.m.
Dann resigned in May 2008 after two women working in the attorney general’s office made sexual harassment allegations against one of his hand-picked managers.
The situation and subsequent investigation led to the firing of two of Dann’s aides and the forced resignation of a third. All three also were convicted on criminal charges.
Dann eventually pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges — one for filing a false disclosure form and another for providing improper compensation to state employees. The latter related to funds from his campaign and transition accounts that were used for an apartment Dann and two of his aides shared and other expenses.
Dann was fined $1,000, ordered to complete 500 hours of community service and barred from serving in public office for seven years.
A seven-page complaint filed with the disciplinary panel earlier this year outlined Dann’s conduct and convictions. And in a nine-page document filed last week, Dann admitted to the facts of the case.
The two sides have tentatively agreed to a six-month stayed suspension, meaning Dann could continue to practice law during that time.
The three-member panel that will hear the case Thursday will decide whether to move forward with the punishment or recommend a different one, said Bret Crow, a spokesman for the Ohio Supreme Court.
The full Supreme Court will make the final decision on the sanction.