High court hears arguments for, against Dann
By Marc Kovac
COLUMBUS
Marc Dann described himself to a state disciplinary panel as an attorney who hired the wrong people after unexpectedly winning statewide office. He also said he should have done more to determine the legality of doling out cash from his campaign coffers and filing required disclosure forms.
But his legal counsel told the state’s high court Tuesday the disgraced former attorney general also accepted responsibility for his misconduct, resigning from office and pleading guilty to criminal charges. And he’s worked hard to make amends, via pro bono legal work helping Ohio families in danger of foreclosure keep their homes.
The latter, Columbus attorney Alvin Mathews Jr. argued, should sway the Ohio Supreme Court to refrain from blocking Dann from practicing law.
“We believe that any sanction that is given in this case, any sort of suspension that would be ordered, should be stayed,” Mathews said, “whether it’s six months or whether it’s one year.”
But the state’s disciplinary counsel argued that Dann’s position as the state’s highest ranking law-enforcement official, a past public reprimand and justifications offered by the former attorney general for his behavior merit a stiffer penalty — namely a six-month suspension of his law license.
“He did not accept full responsibility for his misconduct,” said Joseph Caligiuri, representing the office of disciplinary counsel.
The Ohio Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case Tuesday and has final say on sanctions. Justices will rule on the case later, but no timetable has been set.
Dann sat in the audience as Mathews presented his case. He declined comment to reporters afterward.
Dann resigned in May 2008 amid a scandal that included sexual-harassment allegations against one of his managers, admissions by Dann that he had an affair with one of his underlings and the discovery of improper campaign-account payments.
A 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 misdemeanors — one for filing a false disclosure form and another for providing improper compensation to state employees.
The latter related to thousands of dollars in campaign and transition account funds that were used for hotel rooms, parking, mileage, food, rent on an apartment shared by the former attorney general and two of his aides 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.
He also faced additional sanctions from the state disciplinary board that decides penalties for attorneys for wrongdoing.
He reached an initial agreement with a hearing panel to accept a six-month stayed suspension of his law license, meaning he could continue to practice law.
But the disciplinary board instead recommended a six-month license suspension without a stay.
According to documents, “The panel cannot help but wonder at the harm to the reputation of the legal profession and to the confidence of the public in the office of attorney general when the chief law officer in the state has committed ethical errors and tries to explain them away as respondent has.”
On Tuesday, Caligiuri cited three reasons to issue an outright license suspension: Dann committed his misconduct while actively engaged in the practice of law; he was earlier reprimanded for neglect in a case in his private practice before becoming attorney general; and he tried to tie his wrongdoing to bad legal advice provided by others.
“Every time he said he accepted responsibility, he would turn around and blame somebody for giving him misinformation about his financial disclosure statements,” Caligiuri said.
In challenging the penalty, legal counsel noted that Dann took responsibility.
“Mr. Dann was physically shaken on the stand in terms of talking about how sorry he is about this conduct,” Mathews said. “And so to suggest that he’s not taking responsibility is just completely incorrect.”
Mathews cited previous cases against public officials, including former Gov. Bob Taft, that resulted in public reprimands, not outright license suspensions.
He also said the former attorney general has exceeded the number of required community service hours ordered by the court, helping Ohio families facing foreclosure.
“The man loves what he’s doing, in terms of the practice of law,” Mathews said. “He has helped many, many people who are having their homes foreclosed upon, and he’s also making a practice out of it, and he’s helping a lot of people. And those people, because he’s already suffered penalties, should not be deprived of their lawyer.”
Justices did not indicate which direction they would take on discipline, though they were at times critical of arguments by Dann’s legal counsel.