On Friday, April 7, 2023, the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme Court of Ohio recommended the suspension of attorney Shawn Alexander Romer.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Shawn Alexander Romer,” and was brought by the Disciplinary Counsel with case no. 2022-035.
The charges cited Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct 8.4(b) and 8.4(h) which states:
An Illegal act that reflects adversely on the lawyer’s honesty and trustworthiness.
Conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness to practice law.
The Rules of Professional Conduct can be found here.
On March 7, 2022, the Supreme Court of Ohio suspended the respondent. This stemmed from the respondent’s severe substance abuse from cocaine. He was later convicted of two criminal offenses including one felony offense. Moreover, it was later found that the respondent pleaded guilty by way of information to one count of attempted corruption of another with drugs.
The filing states:
“The Respondent has had a long-term substance abuse problem. Between 2011 and 2017, he was charged on three separate occasions with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a drug of abuse and other related charges. Stip. 16; Joint Ex. 3-5. Two of these cases resulted in convictions for lesser charges, but in 2017, Respondent was convicted of OVI, as well as disorderly conduct due to intoxication.”
The filing continues:
“Through his cocaine use, Respondent met a man identified by the name “Seven,” who was later identified as Reuben Rankin. Respondent began purchasing cocaine from Rankin; when he did so, it was delivered to Respondent at his residence by a female identified as A.L. At the time, A.L. was 15 years old. This arrangement continued for several months. During this time, Rankin also offered to arrange meetings between Respondent and women for sex; except as will be detailed below, Respondent consistently declined Rankin’s offers. Unbeknown to Respondent, the women were being trafficked by Rankin.”
The filing further states:
“While at Respondent’s residence, A.L. and Respondent ingested cocaine together. he parties stipulated that if A.L. would have been called to testify at the hearing, she would have testified that she was initially hesitant to ingest cocaine with Respondent but felt pressured to do so. Stip. 1130; Joint Ex. 13. Respondent acknowledged ingesting cocaine with A.L. but denied that he pressured her into doing so.”
The panel found that the respondent acted with a dishonest motive. The respondent’s cooperation with authorities enabled him to secure a plea bargain that did not reflect the fact that his conduct included sexual contact with a minor, however, there is no dispute that sexual contact with a minor is what in fact took place. And for this reason, coupled with the longstanding precedent from the Supreme Coun of Ohio, the board stated that an indefinite suspension is an appropriate discipline for the said case.
The Recommendation states:
“Pursuant to Gov. Bar R. V, Section 12, the Board of Professional Conduct considered this matter on April 7, 2023. The Board voted to adopt findings of fact, conclusions of law, and recommendation of the hearing panel and recommends that Respondent, Shawn Alexander Romer, be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Ohio, with no credit for time served under the interim felony suspension imposed on March 7, 2022, and ordered to pay the costs of these proceedings.”
Mr. Romer attended the Cleveland State University – Cleveland Marshall College of Law. He practices in Cleveland, Ohio. He is licensed in Ohio. His info can be found on Linkedin.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
