DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL v. CONNORS
No. 2020-0217
Supreme Court of Ohio
June 18, 2020
2020-Ohio-3339
NOTICE
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SLIP OPINION NO. 2020-OHIO-3339
DISCIPLINARY COUNSEL v. CONNORS.
[Until this opinion appears in the Ohio Official Reports advance sheets, it may be cited as Disciplinary Counsel v. Connors, Slip Opinion No. 2020-Ohio-3339.]
Attorneys—Misconduct—Violations of the Rules of Professional Conduct—Indefinite suspension.
(No. 2020-0217—Submitted April 8, 2020—Decided June 18, 2020.)
ON CERTIFIED REPORT by the Board of Professional Conduct of the Supreme Court, No. 2019-040.
Per Curiam.
{¶ 1} Respondent, David Kelsey Connors, of Columbus, Ohio, Attorney Registration No. 0090404, was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio in 2013. On May 7, 2019, we suspended his license on an interim basis upon receiving notice that he had been convicted of a felony. In re Connors, 156 Ohio St.3d 1317, 2019-Ohio-1716, 129 N.E.3d 488.
{¶ 3} The parties entered into stipulations of fact, misconduct, and aggravating and mitigating factors and agreed that an indefinite suspension is the appropriate sanction for Connors‘s misconduct. After Connors testified at a hearing before a panel of the Board of Professional Conduct, the board issued a report finding that Connors had committed the charged misconduct and recommending that we indefinitely suspend him from the practice of law with no credit for the time he has served under his interim felony suspension.
{¶ 4} We accept the board‘s findings of misconduct and indefinitely suspend Connors from the practice of law in Ohio with no credit for the time he has served under his interim felony suspension.
Stipulated Facts and Misconduct
{¶ 5} In March 2017, law-enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Connors‘s home and recovered from electronic devices more than 1,000 images of child pornography and erotica involving prepubescent females. A September 6, 2018 indictment charged Connors with five fifth-degree felony counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material or performance in violation of
{¶ 6} Connors stipulated that his electronic devices contained more than 1,000 images of child pornography and erotica involving prepubescent females. At his disciplinary hearing, however, he testified that “[a] thousand seems too
{¶ 7} Connors testified that he knew that it is illegal to download child pornography and that he understood that prepubescent children involved in child pornography are inherently victims being exploited and that by downloading and sharing such images online, he had perpetuated their abuse. Although he testified that he did not download the images by accident and that he transferred the images to a USB drive so that he could view them on a television screen for his sexual gratification, he claimed that he did not knowingly download something that he thought was illegal. The board found that he had continued to download such images even though he knew that doing so was illegal.
{¶ 8} The parties stipulated that Connors‘s conduct violates
Stipulated Sanction
{¶ 9} When imposing sanctions for attorney misconduct, we consider all relevant factors, including the ethical duties that the lawyer violated, the aggravating and mitigating factors listed in
{¶ 11} The parties stipulated that an indefinite suspension with no credit for the time served under Connors‘s interim felony suspension is the appropriate sanction for his misconduct. The board adopted the parties’ stipulated sanction and recommends that Connors‘s reinstatement be conditioned on the submission of proof that he has (1) complied with the terms of his court-ordered community control, (2) engaged in continued treatment or counseling as recommended by a qualified healthcare professional, and (3) obtained a prognosis from a qualified healthcare professional that he is capable of returning to the competent, ethical, and professional practice of law.
{¶ 12} In support of its recommended sanction, the board cited four decisions in which we imposed indefinite suspensions on attorneys who had pleaded guilty to similar offenses involving child pornography. See Disciplinary Counsel v. Ridenbaugh, 122 Ohio St.3d 583, 2009-Ohio-4091, 913 N.E.2d 443
{¶ 13} Having independently reviewed the record and relevant precedent, we agree that an indefinite suspension with the specified conditions on Connors‘s reinstatement is the appropriate sanction in this case.
Conclusion
{¶ 14} Accordingly, David Kelsey Connors is indefinitely suspended from the practice of law with no credit for the time he has served under his interim felony suspension. In addition to the requirements of
Judgment accordingly.
O‘CONNOR, C.J., and KENNEDY, FRENCH, FISCHER, DEWINE, DONNELLY, and STEWART, JJ., concur.
Joseph M. Caligiuri, Disciplinary Counsel, and Adam P. Bessler, Assistant Disciplinary Counsel, for relator.