Attorney in deadly arson case suspended

GREENVILLE — The Ohio Supreme Court issued a six-month law license suspension Tuesday, Nov. 17, against attorney David A. Rohrer, saying he violated a gag order by leaking to a local newspaper a document pertaining to an arson fire that killed five people, then lied to cover it up.

Rohrer represented a 10-year-old boy accused of setting the September 2007 house fire that killed his mother, his sister and three other children.

The court’s Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline found that Rohrer violated the gag order of a local judge by having a staff member deliver a copy of a motion Rohrer had filed to the Greenville Daily Advocate. According to the court, Rohrer later violated a prohibition against making a false statement to a tribunal by minimizing his involvement at a subsequent disciplinary hearing.

The disciplinary board recommended that part of Rohrer’s suspension should be stayed, but the justices voted 7-0 that his false statements merited an actual six-month suspension.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2264 or tbeyerlein@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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