Prosecutors to file ethics complaint

Also request legal counsel

Lorain County Assistant Prosecutor Jerry Innes is planning to file an abuse of process and ethical complaint against Avon Lake attorney Gerald W. Phillips in light of a recently filed Ohio Supreme Court case.

The case, filed March 9 by former Lorain City Councilman Dennis Flores, asks for a court order to force Lorain County Prosecutor Dennis Will to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the 2016 Council race.

Innes said since he and Will were named in the mandamus action, he requested Lorain County commissioners to pass a resolution to allow the two to submit a request for legal counsel during a March 11 commissioners meeting.

The commissioners approved Innes’s request for a resolution on seeking legal counsel.

“In order to respond to that action, it’s going to be necessary for us to submit testimony through affidavits or otherwise,” he said. “The ethic rules of conduct regarding attorneys do not allow you to act as counsel if you’re going to be presenting evidence in the case, and although Attorney Phillips and his complaints said he has personal knowledge, our office is not going to violate the ethic rules.”

Innes said this isn’t the first time Phillips has “made an absolutely, blatantly false accusation against me,” adding that this is the third instance in the past year.

“With all due humility, I have an AV Preeminent ranking regarding ethics, which is the highest ranking you can get,” he said.

All three commissioners vocalized support for Innes.

“What I’ve always stressed to folks, it costs just as much to be right as it does to be wrong,” said Commissioner Sharon Sweda. “We have no option once you are declared an object of a suit like that, to waste taxpayer dollars over something that has been proven previously. It’s unfortunate that we have to encounter that.”

Commissioner Matt Lundy recalled that the Lorain Police Department previously investigated and found no wrongdoing.

“It just gets to be a little bit frustrating when you’re in government and you run into sometimes, these frivolous legal matters,” Lundy said. “They end up costing taxpayers money.

“So, hopefully, when we get to the bottom of this, we’ll make a determination on whether this was frivolous or not.”