Friday, September 03, 1999

Sheriff defends legal work

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Prosecutor says it's all improper

BY DAN HORN
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Sheriff Simon Leis calls the dispute concerning his office filing lawsuits "stupid." (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Two attorneys in the Hamilton County sheriff's office have performed extensive legal work for years that prosecutors say is improper.

        Sheriff Simon L. Leis said Thursday that the attorneys — Gail Wright and David Albanese — handle all of his office's labor negotiations, arbitration disputes and union grievances.

        Although Sheriff Leis defended the practice as routine and efficient, Prosecutor Mike Allen said it violates an Ohio statute prohibiting sheriffs from practicing law. Mr. Allen said he was unaware the sheriff has been assigning the work to in-house attorneys and warned that those cases must instead be handled by the prosecutor's office.

        He said his office does similar work for other county departments and should do the same for the sheriff.

        “Clearly that's a function that should be done by our office,” Mr. Allen said. “It is not his prerogative to do it.”

        In an interview Thursday, Sheriff Leis spoke publicly for the first time about his continuing dispute with Mr. Allen over legal work done by the sheriff's office.

        Sheriff Leis said he sees nothing improper about his policy and said the work of his attorneys goes far beyond the 41 civil lawsuits they have filed during the past two years.

        He said most of the legal work is “penny ante stuff” that his attorneys are more than capable of handling.

        “It's stupid to raise hell about something like that,” Sheriff Leis said of the lawsuits. “If (Mr. Allen) wants to assign a prosecutor to handle those cases, I'd be more than happy to give them to him.

        “It's ridiculous, but if that's what he wants, fine.”

        He added, however, that the majority of the work performed by the attorneys does not involve lawsuits and should not be an issue.

        Sheriff Leis said Ms. Wright, a former assistant prosecutor, represents him in all labor negotiations, arbitration disputes and hearings regarding labor practices.

        He said Mr. Albanese acts as a hearing officer for grievances filed within the sheriff's office.

        The sheriff said it makes more economic sense for his office to handle those cases than it does to refer them to the prosecutor's office.

        “I've got a duty to protect taxpayer money,” Sheriff Leis said.

        But Mr. Allen said the practice violates the law and should stop immediately. He said the law applies even if the issues or the amount of money involved seem trivial.

        “It doesn't matter if it's over a dime or a million dollars,” Mr. Allen said. “It's not his call to make. We all need to follow the law.”

        He said his position is supported by an Ohio law that makes the prosecutor legal counsel to all other county officeholders. The law also specifically states that county sheriffs are not permitted to practice law.

        “No sheriff ... shall practice law in any court of this state,” the statute reads.

        The dispute between the sheriff and prosecutor arose last week when Sheriff Leis filed a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee in an effort to recover expenses from a presidential visit.

        Although the sheriff voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit Thursday, the case drew attention to other legal work done by his employees.

        Court records show the sheriff has filed at least 41 lawsuits in municipal court seeking to recover training expenses and equipment costs from former employees.

        The sheriff said the suits are filed to enforce a three-year contract all deputies must sign when they join his office. If they do not fulfill the full three years, they are responsible for repaying the $200 to $500 cost of their training.

        “I think the taxpayer ought to benefit from that training, so I make them sign the contract,” Sheriff Leis said.

        One of his former employees, Craig Macke, said he worked for the sheriff for more than two years but was still required to repay the full $240 cost of his training.

        “It was ridiculous,” said Mr. Macke, a former corrections officer. “They didn't pro-rate it or anything.”

        Upon learning that the prosecutor thinks the suits are improper, Mr. Macke said he would like to get his money back.

        Mr. Allen said the issue is not whether any of the sheriff's legal work is legitimate because much of it appears to be appropriate. The point, he said, is that Sheriff Leis and his employees should not be doing any legal work.

        He said the sheriff is allowed to hire lawyers, but he is not permitted to assign them legal work.

        “If it involves anything where they are interpreting the law, they shouldn't be doing it,” Mr. Allen said.

       

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