Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline Issues Report
By Stephanie Beougher - February 13, 2014
The Ohio Supreme Court's board that investigates and prosecutes complaints of misconduct by Ohio's attorneys and judges substantially reduced its active pending caseload, according to its 2013 annual report.
"For a second consecutive year, the board was able to reduce its pending case load by more than 25 percent. That's due in large part to the work of the volunteer commissioners in getting cases scheduled, getting reports written and getting those to the board for consideration," Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline Secretary Richard Dove said.
According to the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline's annual report, 82 matters were filed with or referred to the board, while it completed 89 cases and placed another 13 cases on inactive status.
The three-commissioner hearing panels conducted 56 hearings throughout the year, which the commissioners then reviewed and made recommendations to the Supreme Court. The board ended 2013 with 50 active cases pending.
The Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline has 28 volunteer commissioners from the legal community and the public, and is appointed by the Supreme Court.
In addition to investigating complaints, the board also issues ethics advisory opinions and makes educational programs on ethics available to Ohio's more than 40-thousand lawyers and judges.
