Ohio Board of Professional Conduct Ethics Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of legal ethics opinions issued by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct, with full citations and source links on every page.
No Ohio Board of Professional Conduct opinions match these filters
Try a different search term or clear the filters.
When a former county public defender becomes county prosecutor, can the office still prosecute cases that were pending in the public defender's office, by assigning them to a special prosecutor?
The Board concluded that a former public defender who became county prosecutor could appoint one of his assistants as special prosecutor to handle cases that had been pending before the public defende…
Could a prosecutor appear before a part-time municipal court judge who employed one of the prosecutor's assistants as an associate in the judge's private law firm?
The Board concluded that nothing in the Code specifically barred a prosecutor from appearing before a part-time judge who employed the prosecutor's assistant, but that the prosecutor should not appear…
Could a lawyer serve as a Court of Claims Commissioner in the Victims of Crime Reparation section while also working as a Special Assistant Attorney General on unrelated matters?
The Board concluded that a lawyer who sat as a Court of Claims Commissioner hearing reparation appeals could also serve as a Special Assistant Attorney General on collection work and matters for the D…
Could a part-time city, municipal, or county prosecutor represent criminal defendants in private practice, and were the prosecutor's law partners barred too?
The Board concluded that a part-time prosecutor whose duties included representing the State of Ohio in criminal cases could not represent criminal defendants against the State, with only narrow excep…
Did a county public defender who was running for county prosecuting attorney have to resign as public defender, and what did the lawyer have to disclose to clients?
The Board concluded that nothing in the Code of Professional Responsibility automatically required a public defender to resign because of a candidacy for county prosecutor, but under former DR 5-101(A…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a part-time juvenile division referee practice in the probate division of the same common pleas court before the judge who appointed him, and could the referee's firm members appear in either division?
The Board concluded that the part-time referee could not practice in his own division (Juvenile) nor before the judge who appointed him in any court; firm members could not appear before their colleag…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct and former R.C. 1907.16, could a county court judge appear as a lawyer in other geographic divisions of the same county court, and could the judge's law partners, shareholders, and office-mates appear in any division of that court?
The Board concluded that under R.C. 1907.16 a county court judge was disqualified from practicing law only as to matters pending or originating in that county court during the term of office; the judg…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, what disqualifications applied when a common pleas judge sought to appoint as full-time domestic relations referee a former Bureau of Support prosecutor whose lawyer husband appeared locally?
The Board concluded that the common pleas judge should disqualify under Canon 3C(1) when the referee's husband or members of his firm appeared if impartiality might reasonably be questioned; the refer…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a part-time juvenile court referee continue to serve as the President of, and run for re-election to, his local Board of Education, and was he required to file an annual financial disclosure statement?
The Board concluded that a part-time juvenile court referee could serve on a local Board of Education under Canon 5B(1) and (2) provided the activity did not reflect adversely on impartiality or inter…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could the spouse of a common pleas judge serve as a prosecuting attorney in the same county, and was the judge required to disqualify from all cases prosecuted by that office?
The Board concluded that the judge's spouse could not appear as counsel in the judge's courtroom (Canon 3C(1)(d)(ii)) but could appear before other judges in the county; the disqualification of one pr…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a son who was a law partner of a part-time municipal court judge serve as city law director and prosecute all city matters in his father's court?
The Board concluded that a conflict of interest existed both because of the father-son relationship and because the two men were law partners; under former Compliance Section A(2) a part-time judge's …
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a part-time domestic relations referee in a common pleas court practice law in the general, probate, and juvenile divisions of the same common pleas court?
The Board concluded that referees were considered judges under the former Code Compliance Section because they performed judicial functions, and as part-time judges under Compliance Section A(2) they …
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a probate-juvenile judge serve on the board of trustees of a not-for-profit fund-raising foundation whose proceeds went to agencies that appeared in the judge's court?
The Board concluded that the judge could serve only if the membership avoided fund-raising solicitation, did not lend the judge's name or office to solicitation, and did not interfere with the judge's…
Under the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, could a retired judge eligible for recall to judicial service serve as a member or co-chairperson of a courthouse restoration committee whose function included raising one million dollars in private donations?
The Board concluded that under Compliance Section C and Canon 5B(3) of the former Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct, a retired judge eligible for recall could not solicit funds for any charitable or civic…
Browse Ohio Board of Professional Conduct opinions by topic
Legal ethics opinions from the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct interpret the rules of professional conduct for working lawyers, in response to inquiries from members and committees. They are not binding like court discipline decisions, but courts and discipline boards treat formal opinions as substantial guidance on how the rules apply. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the original source on the bar's site.