Ohio State Bar Association v. McCafferty, 140 Ohio St. 3d 229

Background

Bridget McCafferty, admitted 1991, served as Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judge from 1999 until her 2010 arrest; no prior discipline.
FBI wiretaps and other evidence showed McCafferty used or intended to use her judicial influence for associates (Dimora, Russo, Pumper); those abuses were not charged in the criminal case but were part of the investigative record.
On Sept. 23, 2008, McCafferty spoke with FBI agents at her home and made false statements denying communications and influence; she refused to listen to recorded calls offered by agents.
She was federally indicted and convicted on multiple counts of making false statements (18 U.S.C. §1001); sentencing produced an effective four-count conviction and 14 months imprisonment plus supervised release and fines/community service.
The Board found violations of Prof.Cond.R. 8.4(b),(c),(d),(h) and Jud.Cond.R. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4(B); the Board recommended an indefinite suspension with no credit for the earlier interim felony suspension.
The Ohio Supreme Court adopted the Board’s findings and imposed an indefinite suspension without credit for time served; the interim felony suspension continues until federal supervised release is completed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether McCafferty’s federal convictions and stipulated facts constitute violations of the Rules of Professional and Judicial Conduct	Conviction and stipulation conclusively show violations of Prof.Cond.R. 8.4(b),(c),(d),(h) and Jud.Cond.R. 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 2.4(B)	McCafferty disputed violations of Jud.Cond.R. 1.3 and 2.4, asserting truthful belief in her statements	Court accepted stipulation and convictions; found violations of the cited rules including 1.3 and 2.4(B)
Appropriate weight of aggravating and mitigating factors for sanction	Aggravation: dishonest conduct, recorded contradictions to her claimed belief; mitigation insufficient for leniency	Mitigation: no prior discipline, cooperation, character letters, community service, punishments already suffered (loss of judgeship, prison, fines)	Court found aggravating and mitigating factors but gave greater weight to dishonesty and implausible remorse; accepted Board’s findings
Whether disbarment is required for a judge convicted of felony false statements	Relator urged disbarment, citing precedent where judges convicted of felonies were disbarred	McCafferty sought a fixed 24-month suspension, argued this was a single impromptu episode, not a prolonged premeditated scheme	Court distinguished this case from permanent-disbarment precedents (those involved longer, preplanned schemes) and declined to disbar; imposed indefinite suspension without credit for interim felony suspension
Credit for prior interim felony suspension period	Relator requested no credit for time served under interim felony suspension	McCafferty sought credit against any imposed suspension	Court denied credit; indefinite suspension will begin after federal supervised release ends; interim felony suspension remains in effect until federal discharge

Key Cases Cited

Mahoning Cty. Bar Assn. v. Franko, 168 Ohio St. 17 (1958) (judges held to the highest ethical standard)
Disciplinary Counsel v. O’Neill, 103 Ohio St.3d 204 (2004) (describing purposes of judicial discipline and elevated standards for judges)
Disciplinary Counsel v. Hoskins, 119 Ohio St.3d 17 (2008) (judge disbarred for multiple deceptive acts; discussion of mitigation and presumptions)
Disciplinary Counsel v. Gallagher, 82 Ohio St.3d 51 (1998) (judge disbarred after felony conviction brought disrepute to the judiciary)
Disciplinary Counsel v. McAuliffe, 121 Ohio St.3d 315 (2009) (judge disbarred for planned criminal conduct despite considerations)
Disciplinary Counsel v. Crane, 56 Ohio St.3d 38 (1990) (indefinite suspension without credit for time served for judge convicted of tax offenses)
Disciplinary Counsel v. Evans, 89 Ohio St.3d 497 (2000) (lesser sanction where misconduct differed in character and context)