Disciplinary Counsel v. Camboni

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as

Disciplinary Counsel v. Camboni, Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-653.]

NOTICE

This slip opinion is subject to formal revision before it is published in an

advance sheet of the Ohio Official Reports. Readers are requested to

promptly notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of Ohio, 65

South Front Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215, of any typographical or other

formal errors in the opinion, in order that corrections may be made before

the opinion is published.

SLIP OPINION NO. 2016-OHIO-653

DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL v. CAMBONI.

[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it

may be cited as Disciplinary Counsel v. Camboni, Slip Opinion No.

2016-Ohio-653.]

Attorneys—Misconduct—Knowingly disobeying an obligation under the rules of a

tribunal—Committing a misdemeanor offense while disciplinary action was

pending—One-year suspension, stayed on conditions.

(No. 2015-1314—Submitted September 15, 2015—Decided February 25, 2016.)

ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme

Court, No. 2015-011.

_______________________

Per Curiam.

{¶ 1} Respondent, Timothy Warren Camboni of Ashland, Ohio, Attorney

Registration No. 0083827, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 2008.

{¶ 2} In a complaint filed with the Board of Professional Conduct on

February 17, 2015, relator, disciplinary counsel, alleged that Camboni violated the

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Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct based on his conviction of one misdemeanor

count of assault and his violation of a court order that forbade him to have contact

with the victim. The parties entered into stipulations of fact, law, and aggravating

and mitigating factors. They agreed that Camboni’s conduct violated Prof.Cond.R.

3.4(c) (prohibiting a lawyer from knowingly disobeying an obligation under the

rules of a tribunal) and that a six-month suspension, stayed on a condition, was the

appropriate sanction for his conduct.

{¶ 3} A panel of the board granted the parties’ motion to waive the hearing

and adopted their stipulations of fact, misconduct, and aggravating and mitigating

factors. But, noting that Camboni had committed another misdemeanor offense

and pleaded guilty to the charge while this disciplinary action was pending, the

panel recommended that he be suspended from the practice of law for one year, all

stayed on a condition. The board adopted the panel’s report in its entirety. We

adopt the board’s report and agree that a one-year suspension, all stayed on

conditions, is the appropriate sanction in this case.

Misconduct

{¶ 4} The parties stipulated that in 2013, Camboni and his former girlfriend

were traveling in a vehicle and began arguing. The dispute escalated and the

woman wanted to exit the vehicle, but Camboni did not stop until they arrived at

his residence, where they continued to argue. A neighbor called the police. The

woman fled the scene, but when contacted by the police, she alleged that Camboni

had attacked her.

{¶ 5} Camboni was charged with several misdemeanor offenses and was

later indicted on felony counts of abduction and kidnapping and a misdemeanor

count of assault. He was arrested on December 24, 2013, and was released on his

own recognizance, but he was prohibited from having any contact with the victim

of his alleged crimes. The state moved to revoke his bond in April 2014 for having

had contact with the victim, but a judge of the Ashland County Court of Common

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January Term, 2016

Pleas denied the motion and informed Camboni that further contact with the victim

would not be tolerated. In May 2014, the judge granted the state’s second motion

for revocation of Camboni’s bond, based on his continued contact with the victim.

{¶ 6} The day after his bond was revoked, Camboni entered an Alford plea

to a misdemeanor count of assault.1 All of the felony charges were dismissed as a

result of his plea. He was sentenced to six months in jail and ordered to pay a

$1,000 fine plus court costs.

{¶ 7} Camboni stipulated that he violated the no-contact order while his

criminal case was pending and that his conduct violated Prof.Cond.R. 3.4(c).

Relator agreed to dismiss an alleged violation of Prof.Cond.R. 8.4(h) (prohibiting

a lawyer from engaging in conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness to

practice law). The board adopted these stipulations.

Sanction

{¶ 8} When imposing sanctions for attorney misconduct, we consider

relevant factors, including the ethical duties the lawyer violated and the sanctions

imposed in similar cases. Stark Cty. Bar Assn. v. Buttacavoli, 96 Ohio St.3d 424,

2002-Ohio-4743, 775 N.E.2d 818, ¶ 16. We also weigh evidence of the aggravating

and mitigating factors listed in Gov.Bar R. V(13).

{¶ 9} Here the parties stipulated and the board found that the relevant

mitigating factors include the absence of a prior disciplinary record; the absence of

a dishonest or selfish motive; Camboni’s full and free disclosure to the board, his

cooperative attitude toward the proceedings, and his acknowledgment that his

actions were improper; and the imposition of other penalties or sanctions, including

his criminal sanction and his loss of employment with the Ashland County

Department of Job and Family Services. See Gov.Bar R. V(13)(C)(1), (2), (4), and

1

An Alford plea is “[a] guilty plea that a defendant enters as a part of a plea bargain without

admitting guilt.” Black’s Law Dictionary 86 (10th Ed.2014). See North Carolina v. Alford, 400

U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970).

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(6). The parties further stipulated that none of the aggravating factors identified in

Gov.Bar R. V(13)(B) are present, although the stipulations acknowledged that

Camboni was charged with and pleaded guilty to another misdemeanor criminal

offense—operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated—while this disciplinary

action was pending. He was sentenced to one year of probation and 30 days in jail

with 27 days suspended for that offense. The parties’ stipulations also

acknowledged that he has entered into a three-year contract with the Ohio Lawyers

Assistance Program (“OLAP”) and that at the time the parties entered into the

stipulations, was attending daily Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

{¶ 10} The parties agreed that the appropriate sanction for Camboni’s

misconduct is a six-month suspension, fully stayed on the condition that Camboni

cooperate with OLAP. They cited three cases in support of their recommended

sanction: Disciplinary Counsel v. Rohrer, 124 Ohio St.3d 65, 2009-Ohio-5930,

919 N.E.2d 180 (imposing a six-month suspension on an attorney who deliberately

violated a juvenile judge’s order barring communications with the media and then

made false statements to the judge denying his conduct); Richland Cty. Bar Assn.

v. Brightbill, 56 Ohio St.3d 95, 564 N.E.2d 471 (1990) (publicly reprimanding an

attorney who was charged with and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor counts of

impersonating a police officer and soliciting to engage in sexual activity for hire);

and Disciplinary Counsel v. Hillis, 139 Ohio St.3d 319, 2014-Ohio-2113, 11

N.E.3d 1156 (imposing a six-month fully stayed suspension on a part-time city law

director who pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of solicitation and

criminal trespass after he was found in a parked car on private property with a

known prostitute).

{¶ 11} The board distinguished Camboni’s conduct from these cases and

recommended that he be suspended for one year, all stayed on the condition that he

fully comply with the terms of his OLAP contract, on the ground that he was

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charged with and pleaded guilty to another misdemeanor criminal offense while

this disciplinary action was pending.

{¶ 12} We adopt the board’s findings of fact and misconduct and

aggravating and mitigating factors, and we agree that a one-year suspension, all

stayed on conditions, is the appropriate sanction for Camboni’s misconduct.

{¶ 13} Accordingly, Timothy Warren Camboni is suspended from the

practice of law in Ohio for one year, all stayed on the conditions that he engage in

no further misconduct and remain in full compliance with his OLAP contract. If

Camboni fails to comply with the terms of the stay, the stay will be lifted, and he

will serve the full one-year suspension. Costs are taxed to Camboni.

Judgment accordingly.

O’CONNOR, C.J., and PFEIFER, O’DONNELL, LANZINGER, KENNEDY,

FRENCH, and O’NEILL, JJ., concur.

_________________

Scott J. Drexel, Disciplinary Counsel, and Catherine M. Russo, Assistant

Disciplinary Counsel, for relator.

Timothy Warren Camboni, pro se.

_________________

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