In a move rare in Ohio and across the country, the Ohio Supreme Court on Thursday disbarred a county judge accused of money laundering and other ethics violations.
With the court's action, Highland County Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Hoskins becomes the first sitting judge in modern judicial history in Ohio to be removed from the bench.
Hoskins' misconduct "caused incalculable harm to the public perception of the judiciary and attorneys," a unanimous Supreme Court concluded.
The high court's ruling said Hoskins engaged in a pattern of professional misconduct dating back a decade.
The justices said that while Hoskins was serving on the bench, he deliberately concealed his involvement in a real estate purchase. He also illegally released a man from jail who was serving time for a sexual imposition conviction, the Supreme Court said.
The court also concluded that during his years as an attorney in private practice, Hoskins made improper and unauthorized withdrawals of money from the estates of several relatives.
The court permanently revoked Hoskins' license as an attorney and barred him for life from practicing law in Ohio. It based its decision on what it called a pattern of serious misconduct.
"His misconduct as both a judge and an attorney spanned a protracted period of over 10 years, with much of it occurring after respondent had become judge," the court said. "Clearly, these violations were not isolated incidents in an otherwise unblemished legal career."
The court's decision followed the recommendation of the state Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, which rules on misconduct allegations brought against lawyers and judges.
Hoskins' lawyer, George Jonson, called the ruling disappointing and said it was clear the court was most bothered by the real estate deal.
Jonson said he reached Hoskins on the phone Thursday as the judge was on his way to court and told him the news.
"Disbarring a judge isn't something that's done lightly and it was my opinion that this case didn't have severe enough misconduct to warrant disbarment," Jonson said.
Hoskins is the first sitting judge in Ohio under the current disciplinary system -- which dates back 50 years -- to be disbarred, said Supreme Court spokesman Chris Davey. In two other cases in the past 15 years, judges were also disbarred but they had already been suspended from the bench because of the allegations against them.
In one case, a judge had pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine. In another, the judge was convicted on six counts of extortion. In a third case in 2000, the court disbarred an attorney for misconduct that happened while he was a municipal court judge, but he had left the court by the time the court issued its decision.
The National Center for State Courts in Williamsburg, Va., said Thursday such disbarments are rare nationally.
Following the court's ruling, Chief Justice Thomas Moyer appointed two retired judges to the Highland County court: Judge David Wilson of Adams County and Judge Daniel Fedders of Warren County.
