Ohio board recommends indefinite suspension of ex-marion judge
The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct (BPC) has recommended that former Marion County judge Jason D. Warner “be suspended indefinitely from the practice of law in Ohio.”
The Ohio BPC panel that heard Warner’s case last October issued its recommendation to the Ohio Supreme Court on Feb. 3. Warner, age 52, is serving a two-year prison sentence after he was convicted on March 11, 2021, of one count of complicity to tampering with evidence, a fourth-degree felony, and one count of complicity to leaving the scene of an accident, a third-degree felony, for leaving the scene of a two-vehicle crash on June 4, 2020, in which Colton Gray of Marion was severely injured.
Although still incarcerated at the Toledo Correctional Institution, Warner sought to have his license to practice law in Ohio reinstated. According to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections website, Warner’s expected release/parole eligibility date is Dec. 26, 2023.
In its recommendation to the Ohio Supreme Court, the Board of Professional Conduct stated that there were several “aggravating factors” that led to their decision. The first was that Warner “acted with a selfish motive, considering only himself and his wife and without regard for Gray.” The board also noted the “multiple offenses” Warner committed, including “leaving the scene of an accident, and tampering with the evidence.”
Finally, the board pointed out that Warner has failed “to acknowledge the wrongful nature of his conduct.”
“(Warner) admits that it was morally wrong to leave the accident scene without obtaining assistance for Gray. However,
(Warner) continues to deny that his conduct was a violation of the statutes under which he was convicted,” the board wrote in its recommendation. “(Warner) denied criminal responsibility at trial, on appeal, and in this disciplinary matter, which constitutes an aggravating factor.”
The board acknowledged five mitigating factors in Warner’s defense: no prior disciplinary record; “a timely, good faith effort to make restitution” to Gray; “full and free disclosure to the Board and a cooperative attitude toward the proceedings;” “evidence of good character and reputation” with letters from 20 people; and “imposition of other penalties” (including the loss of Warner’s judgeship and the prison sentence he is serving).
Any party that appears before the Board of Professional Conduct will have an opportunity to file objections to the board’s reports and recommendations with the Ohio Supreme Court. If a party files objections, the Supreme Court will schedule the case for oral argument.
As of Tuesday, Warner’s attorney had not yet filed an objection to the board’s recommendation, according to the Board of Professional Conduct website.
The Ohio Supreme Court “imposed an interim felony suspension” against Jason Warner on March 12, 2021, “suspending (him) from the practice of law pending investigation, initiation, and completion of (the) disciplinary proceeding against him.”
Warner’s wife Julia Warner, age 55, is also serving a two-year prison sentence after being convicted of the same charges.
She is incarcerated at the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville. Her expected release/parole eligibility date is Oct. 18, 2023.
Email: ecarter@gannett.com | Twitter: @Andrewaccarter