Complaints pile up against former Girard prosecutor

COLUMBUS

While complaints against former Girard Municipal Court Prosecutor Robert L. Johnson relating this his work as a private-practice attorney continue to pile up, Johnson’s attorney says Johnson’s mental health issues explain what happened.

Johnson served as prosecutor for the Girard Court for 18 years until Feb. 1, 2014, six weeks before the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Johnson’s law license over complaints filed by clients in Trumbull and Lorain counties.

Atty. Terry A. Swauger, who is prosecutor in Niles Municipal Court, is representing the Trumbull County Bar Association, which is investigating four additional complaints filed by former clients of Johnson.

Swauger told the Ohio Supreme Court in an Oct. 27 filing that the Lorain County Bar Association is also investigating three additional complaints and is seeking Johnson’s permanent disbarment.

Atty. John B. Juhasz of Youngstown, who is representing Johnson, filed documents with the Supreme Court Sept. 17 saying his client is guilty of failing to respond to complaints from customers and the Trumbull and Lorain county bar associations.

But Juhasz says Johnson’s “mental depression explains, though it does not justify” his failure to respond to complaints about his work.

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