Ohio

Federal Jury Convicts Attorney and His Mom of Lying in Law Office Tax Case Launched By His Ex-Wife

After a five-week trial and two days of deliberation, a federal jury in Columbus has found an Ohio attorney and his mother guilty of lying to a grand jury in a law office tax case launched by his now ex-wife during a bitter divorce. Aristotle R. Matsa, 55, also was…

Apr 20, 2012 6:11 PM CDT

Lawyer Held in Contempt, Spends 5 Days in Jail for Lying to Court to Get Out of Speeding Ticket

An Ohio attorney paid $75 to settle a reduced headlight-violation charge last week, after being ticketed earlier this month for speeding. Christopher Cicero said an assistant prosecutor had approved the plea deal. But that wasn’t true, and when Franklin County Municipal Judge Scott Vanderkarr found out about the lie he…

Apr 10, 2012 4:09 PM CDT

Ohio’s Top Court Hears Arguments by Ex-Attorney General Seeking Stay of 6-Month License Suspension

Arguing that a former state governor and a former president of the Cleveland City Council received lesser punishment for similar violations of legal ethics rules for lawyers, a former Ohio attorney general on Tuesday asked the state’s top court, through his counsel, to stay a six-month suspension of his own…

Apr 4, 2012 9:23 PM CDT

Attorney Witness in Obstruction Case Testifies He Pretended Friend’s Law Firm Was His Own

Although he had worked for his friend, Aristotle R. Matsa, in the past, George Pappas now admits he didn’t even have a key to the Matsa law office until 2004. But, to protect Matsa from losing the law in a divorce from his second wife, Pappas told the feds he…

Mar 29, 2012 8:00 PM CDT

Lawyer Is Impetus for ‘Cash Mob’ Phenomenon

A Cleveland class action lawyer who wanted to counter the destructiveness of flash mobs is spreading the news about a related idea: cash mobs. Andrew Samtoy, an associate at Dworken & Bernstein, has just a few rules for cash mobs, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports. A group of people descends…

Mar 27, 2012 10:30 AM CDT

Ohio Assistant Attorney General Among the Injured in Stabbing Spree; Suspect Is Shot by Police

An Ohio assistant attorney general was among four persons stabbed in Columbus on Wednesday by a knife-wielding man in an office building. The unidentified suspect was shot by police outside the building, report the Columbus Dispatch and the Associated Press. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Police…

Mar 15, 2012 11:41 AM CDT

‘Unscrupulous Procedural Tactics’ Result In 12-Month License Suspension for Ohio Divorce Lawyer

Saying that an Ohio divorce lawyer had engaged in “a course of conduct that was replete with dishonest, deceptive, and disrespectful acts” as a practitioner, the state supreme court today unanimously agreed that his law license should be suspended for 12 months. The court found that attorney Joseph G. Stafford,…

Mar 8, 2012 6:20 PM CST

Teen Charged as Juvenile in Ohio School Shooting Murders, Could Still Face Adult Case

A 17-year-old sophomore described by a prosecutor as an individual “who’s not well,” was charged today as a juvenile with multiple murder counts in this week’s Ohio high school shooting. T.J. Lane could still face adult charges in the Geauga County case, but he would not face the death penalty…

Mar 1, 2012 11:03 PM CST

Teen Suspect in Ohio School Shooting Likely to Face Adult Case, AG Says, But Isn’t Now Charged

As the number of fellow students killed in a school shooting in Ohio yesterday climbed to three, the state’s attorney general said the as-yet-undentified juvenile suspect in the crimes is likely to be tried as an adult. CNN, like other news media, names the 17-year-old sophomore, based on accounts by…

Feb 28, 2012 9:23 PM CST

Man’s Facebook Rant Violated Protective Order; Judge Says He Can Post Apology or Go to Jail

Angry about a domestic relations court protective order that ordered him to stay away from his wife and affected his custody of his son, an Ohio man vented on his personal Facebook page. That got Mark Byron in a lot more trouble, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Ordered by a Hamilton…

Feb 24, 2012 8:06 PM CST

Promise of Love and Affection Isn’t Sufficient Consideration for Contract, Ohio Supreme Court Says

A couple in an off-again, on-again romantic relationship never had a valid contract to split property proceeds because the consideration was love and affection, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled. Amber Williams and Frederick Ormsby had two written contracts regarding a home first owned by Williams, according to the opinion…

Feb 24, 2012 2:42 PM CST

Ohio Justice Who Helped Write Death Penalty Law Now Opposes It

An Ohio Supreme Court justice who helped write the state’s death penalty law as a state legislator in 1981 is now speaking out against it. In December, Justice Paul Pfeifer testified in favor of a bill to abolish capital punishment, the Associated Press reports. “I have concluded that the death…

Feb 15, 2012 2:27 PM CST

Sanctions Sought for Law Firm Accused of Using Inadvertently Produced Info to Solicit New Clients

Counsel for some of the defendants in complex nationwide litigation concerning claimed defects in ASR hip implants marketed by a unit of Johnson & Johnson are asking a Georgia judge to sanction an Atlanta law firm. Childers Schlueter & Smith was already representing plaintiffs in some of the approximately 4,500…

Feb 13, 2012 9:30 PM CST

Supreme Court Declines to Lift Execution Stay Obtained by Ohio Inmate

A stay of execution remains in place for a convicted killer in Ohio after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. Death row inmate Charles Lorraine had been scheduled to die last month, but a federal judge granted a stay because of concerns that the state has failed to follow…

Feb 9, 2012 8:11 PM CST

Former Death Row Inmate Charged with Threatening Judge Who Once Prosecuted Him

A man who spent 21 years on Ohio’s death row before his conviction was overturned in 2008 has been charged with leaving a threatening telephone message for the judge who prosecuted the death penalty case against him. Ken Richey, 47, is accused of calling the Putnam County, Ohio, courthouse on…

Jan 26, 2012 10:13 PM CST