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Home > Blogs > Ohio politics > Archives > 2010 > June > 16 > Entry
GOP Chairman DeWine files complaint against Chief Justice Brown
Ohio Republican Chairman Kevin DeWine has filed a complaint against Democratic Chief Justice Eric Brown of the Ohio Supreme Court, alleging that Brown violated two sections of the Code of Judicial Conduct regarding fund-raising.
The complaint was filed in a letter to the high court’s Disciplinary Counsel and relates to phone calls Brown made for a fundraiser at a Columbus nightclub last month..
DeWine, in the June 4 letter, said Brown violated a rule that says “a judicial candidate shall not personally solicit or receive campaign contributions” and a second that says a judicial candidate may not participate in a fundraiser that categorizes or identifies participants by the amounts they give.
Don Spicer, Browns’ campaign consultant, said such complaints are confidential until probable cause is found and declined comment.
However, in a previous Dayton Daily News story on the issue, Spicer told reporter Laura A. Bischoff that Brown did not violate judicial ethics because he was only encouraging attendance, not directly asking for contributions.
“There were people at the event who did not, in fact, contribute one penny. We were trying to build a crowd obviously. He was inviting people to the event, but not soliciting contributions,” Spicer said in the story. “I will say that apparently some people are misunderstanding that. We won’t be doing that in the future.”
In his complaint letter, DeWine said that Brown didn’t have to name a contribution amount because he was following up on an invitation that put the amount at $1,000.
“Any reasonable person who got such an invitation and then received a call as a ‘follow up’ would perceive this as a solicitation. And (the rule) says that it is unethical and a violation for a judicial candidate to make such a solicitation,” DeWine said in his complaint.
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Comments
By Jay
June 23, 2010 7:39 AM | Link to this
Hey Tired of it, THEIR BOY( BY THE WAY IS A racial SLUR TOWARDS WHITES BUT DEMON’S ARE ALLOWED TO BE RACIST) along with a majority Of whiners is going to Do a whole lot of WHINING IN NOVEMBER, you ACORN Demon’s Have shown the world your Hatred for FREEDOM By electing a Fake 1/2 Chocolate socialist Muslim who hates America, I’d say the Party of Whiners will take back the UNITED STATES from the Traders who are Killing it’s FREEDOM’S as we speak.REMEMBER IN NOVEMBER DEMONCRATS.
By null
June 17, 2010 11:37 AM | Link to this
I like how you Democrats throw around the word “democratic” thinking that it means the same thing. The “democrat” party is totally against democracy. They are for total control by the government and for the government… look up the definitions in the dictionary, you might decide that you are in the wrong party
By Anastasia P
June 17, 2010 10:17 AM | Link to this
Exactly what sort of “Chicago-style politics” do you think is being played here? Oh right, I get it — it’s a vague, all-purpose attack on all things Democratic, meaning nothing. And if I were a Republican, I wouldn’t talk considering that a GOP justice on the Ohio Supreme Court right now was singled out by the New York Times back in 2006 for his reliable tendency to find with his many special-interest campaign donors. Talk about a breach of judicial ethics!
By tired of it.
June 16, 2010 9:51 PM | Link to this
republicans always whine! like there boy mike dewine
By Clarence Engel
June 16, 2010 4:25 PM | Link to this
It seems that Ohio Chief Justice Brown is playing Chicago Style politics. It has dropped down from Washington now to Ohio.
By Max
June 16, 2010 12:23 PM | Link to this
“Any reasonable person who got such an invitation and then received a call as a ‘follow up’ would perceive this as a solicitation.”——-This is a court arguement and jury instruction, not grounds for a criminal complaint. Of course this erroneously presumes there is a ‘reasonable’ person in Columbus except Tressel.