The Supreme Court of Ohio - Supreme Court - State of Ohio

The Ohio Constitution gives the Supreme Court of Ohio
responsibility to oversee the practice of law in the state.
To fulfill these duties, the Court developed one of the most
comprehensive disciplinary systems of any state in the nation
by establishing three offices — Office of Disciplinary Counsel,
Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline, and
the Clients’ Security Fund — to exercise quasi-independent
authority to assist the Court.
In addition, Chief Justice Moyer chairs the Ohio Criminal
Sentencing Commission, which was created by statute in
1990. The commission reviews Ohio’s sentencing statutes and
patterns, and recommends necessary statutory changes.
Office of Disciplinary Counsel
The Office of Disciplinary Counsel is authorized to
investigate allegations and initiate complaints concerning
ethical misconduct and/or mental illness of judges or attorneys
under the Code of Professional Responsibility, the Rules of
Professional Conduct, the Code of Judicial Conduct, and rules
governing the Unauthorized Practice of Law, pursuant to the
Supreme Court Rules for the Government of the Bar and the
Government of the Judiciary. The current disciplinary counsel
staff includes 10 attorneys, one administrative officer, one
administrative assistant, two full-time and one part-time legal
research analyst/paralegals, two full-time and one part-time
investigators, four legal secretaries, one receptionist and one
clerical support person.
During 2008, the Office of Disciplinary Counsel received
3,395 matters for consideration, including 2,385 grievances
filed against attorneys and 556 grievances filed against judges.
Of those, 1,680 were dismissed upon initial review and 1,260
were opened for investigation.
The office also received 291 appeals of grievances
previously dismissed by local bar association certified
grievance committees, 91 allegations of the unauthorized
practice of law and four reciprocal discipline cases (cases
involving licensed Ohio attorneys disciplined in other
jurisdictions). No cases of failure to maintain child support
were reported to the office in 2008. Additionally, 29 resignation
applications were received for review, and 19 resignation cases
were closed in 2008.
During the year, disciplinary counsel attorneys appeared in
33 hearings before panels of the Board of Commissioners on
Grievances & Discipline and one hearing before the Board on
the Unauthorized Practice of Law. They also participated in 11
Supreme Court oral arguments.
Office of Disciplinary
COUNSEL 2008 staff
Paula J. Adams
Stacy Beckman
Robert R. Berger
Lori J. Brown
Joseph M. Caligiuri
Carol A. Costa
Jonathan E. Coughlan
Cheryl A. Dean
Brenda M. English
Linda S. Hardesty-Fish
Heather L. Hissom
Laura K. Johnston
Joel S. Kent
Philip A. King
Michael J. Kozanecki
Randy T. McGough
Christine McKrimmon
James R. McMahon
Rae Jeanne Nicholas
Karen H. Osmond
Heath A. Rambo
Mischelle L. Russell
Shannon B. Scheid
Holly A. Smith
Amy C. Stone
BOARD OF Commissioners
on Grievances &
Discipline 2008 staff
Jayme L. Barlow
Anne M. Butcher
Ruth B. Dangel
Faith Long
Jonathan W. Marshall
Michele L. Pennington
Jennifer Routte
Clients’ Security Fund
2008 staff
Meletha Dawson
Pamela Leslie
Janet Green Marbley
Abigail L. Minnix
Criminal Sentencing
Commission 2008 staff
David J. Diroll
Cynthia J. Ward
Shawn P. Welch
2008 Annual Report • The Supreme Court of Ohio 91