Dayton Attorney Indefinitely
Suspended
By Dennis Whalen
May 1, 2013
Share
on facebook Share on twitter Share on
email Share on print
The
Supreme Court of Ohio today indefinitely
suspended the law license of Dayton attorney
Marc N. Greenberg for engaging in
sexually explicit online conversations
with undercover police agents whom he believed to be 12 and 13-year-old
girls,
and using his computer webcam to transmit obscene video and still
photos to
those persons.
Greenberg’s
license has been under an interim
suspension since November 2010, when the court received notice of his
convictions on federal felony counts of possessing child pornography
and
transferring obscene material to minors.
In
today’s
5-2 per curiam (not authored by a single
justice) opinion, the court
adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances &
Discipline
that Greenberg’s conduct violated the state disciplinary rules that
prohibit an
attorney from engaging in illegal conduct that reflects adversely on
his
honesty or trustworthiness, and engaging in conduct that adversely
reflects on
the lawyer’s fitness to practice law.
In
setting the appropriate sanction for his
misconduct as an indefinite suspension from practice with no credit for
the
time served under interim suspension, the court noted the aggravating
factors
that Greenberg acted with a selfish motive, committed multiple offenses
over a
period of several months and intended to prey on vulnerable children. It also noted mitigating
factors, including
Greenberg’s cooperation with the disciplinary process and
acknowledgement of
the wrongfulness of his actions, his entry into ongoing therapy for the
diagnosed
mental disorder of paraphilia, the absence of a prior disciplinary
record, and
the severe sanctions and penalties imposed for his criminal violations,
which
have included financial ruin, public humiliation, and service of a
19-month
federal prison term.
The
court’s majority opinion was joined by
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Judith Ann
Lanzinger, Sharon L. Kennedy, and Judith L. French.
Justices
Terrence O’Donnell and William M.
O’Neill dissented. Justice O’Donnell indicated that he would disbar
Greenberg.
Justice O’Neill indicated that he would grant credit against today’s
indefinite
suspension for the time Greenberg’s license has been under an interim
suspension.
Please
note: Opinion summaries are prepared by
the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media.
Opinion
summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy
cases.
Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or
syllabi of
court opinions.
|