Ohio Supreme Court Decision: Supreme Court Rules Prosecutor’s Conduct Did Not Violate Disciplinary Rules

Supreme Court Rules Prosecutor’s Conduct Did Not Violate Disciplinary Rules

Disciplinary Counsel v. Kellogg-Martin, Slip Opinion No. 2010-Ohio-282.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 07-069. The complaint against Kimberly J. Kellogg-Martin, Attorney Registration No. 0022083, is dismissed.
Pfeifer, Lundberg Stratton, O'Connor, O'Donnell, Lanzinger, and Cupp, JJ., concur.
Moyer, C.J., dissents and would impose a 12-month suspension with six months stayed.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2010/2010-Ohio-282.pdf

(Feb. 4, 2010) The Supreme Court of Ohio today dismissed a disciplinary complaint alleging professional misconduct by Logan County assistant prosecutor Kimberly Kellogg-Martin. The Court’s decision reversed findings of disciplinary rule violations by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline.

In a 6-1 per curiam opinion, the Court concluded that Kellogg-Martin’s acts and omissions in not disclosing the contents of two documents to the defendant in a juvenile rape case did not violate her legal obligations as a prosecutor or her ethical duties as an attorney. The undisclosed documents were reports summarizing the victim’s statements about the crime during interviews with a social worker and a sheriff’s deputy.

The majority opinion was joined by Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Evelyn Lundberg Stratton, Maureen O’Connor, Terrence O’Donnell, Judith Ann Lanzinger and Robert R. Cupp.

Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer entered a dissent stating that in his view the majority erred by evaluating Kellogg-Martin’s conduct in light of the state’s rules of criminal procedure and court decisions defining defendants’ due process rights, rather than applying the more rigorous disclosure standard set by Rule 7-103(B) of the Code of Professional Responsibility. The Chief Justice wrote that he would affirm the rule violations found by the disciplinary board and impose the board’s recommended sanction of a 12-month license suspension with six months stayed on conditions.

Contacts
Jonathan E. Coughlan, 614.461.0256, for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Christopher J. Weber, 614.462.5400, for Kimberly Kellogg-Martin.

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