ETH 2019-08
Opinion 2019-08
Withdraws Adv. Op. 1989-09
Ohio Ethics Opinion
Ohio Board of Professional Conduct
August 2, 2019
D.
Allan Asbury Senior Counsel
Kristi
R. McAnaul Counsel
Patricia A. Wise Vice- Chair
Richard A. Dove Director
Duty
to Report Criminal Defense Lawyer Employed in Same Law Firm
as County Prosecutor
SYLLABUS:
If a lawyer possesses actual, unprivileged knowledge that a
criminal defense lawyer is acting contrary to state law by
serving as court-appointed counsel while associated in a firm
with the county prosecutor, then he or she has a duty to
report the conduct to the appropriate disciplinary authority.
This
nonbinding advisory opinion is issued by the Ohio Board of
Professional Conduct in response to a prospective or
hypothetical question regarding the application of ethics
rules applicable to Ohio judges and lawyers. The Ohio Board
of Professional Conduct is solely responsible for the content
of this advisory opinion, and the advice contained in this
opinion does not reflect and should not be construed as
reflecting the opinion of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
Questions regarding this advisory opinion should be directed
to the staff of the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct.
Hon.
John W. Wise Chair.
Duty
to Report Criminal Defense Lawyer Employed in Same Law Firm
as County Prosecutor
SYLLABUS:
If a lawyer possesses actual, unprivileged knowledge that a
criminal defense lawyer is acting contrary to state law by
serving as court-appointed counsel while associated in a firm
with the county prosecutor, then he or she has a duty to
report the conduct to the appropriate disciplinary authority.
QUESTION
PRESENTED: Does a municipal prosecutor have a duty
to report a criminal defense lawyer who is employed as an
associate in the same law firm as the county prosecutor
[1] ?
APPLICABLE
RULES: Prof.Cond. R. 1.7, 1.10, 1.11, 8.3
OPINION:
The Board has been asked to address the duty of a municipal
prosecutor to report to the appropriate disciplinary
authority the conduct of a criminal defense lawyer who
practices in the same law firm as the county prosecutor. Much
of the analysis related to a lawyer’s duty to report
this association will depend on whether the criminal defense
lawyer is privately retained or...
