By Kevin Aldridge
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Juleana Frierson, chief of staff for the Cincinnati Black United Front, was appointed Tuesday by the Ohio Supreme Court to the panel that investigates ethical complaints against judges and lawyers.

Ms. Frierson, who has been an outspoken critic of the judicial system in Hamilton County, is one of four nonlawyers on the 28-member Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline. She will serve a three-year term. There is no salary, but she will be reimbursed for expenses.

The board conducts hearings and makes findings and recommendations to the Supreme Court in cases involving charges of ethical misconduct brought against lawyers and judges. It also hears cases concerning the mental illness of any judge or attorney and petitions for reinstatement filed by suspended lawyers.

The panel's recommendations, which could include disbarment, are nonbinding.

"I look forward to learning a lot and being fair in my review of complaints against attorneys and judges in Ohio," Ms. Frierson said.

Ms. Frierson, a 46-year-old federal government retiree, said she was nominated for the position by retiring Ohio Supreme Court Justice Andrew Douglas.

News of her appointment drew mixed reviews from some in the legal community.

"I think what the Supreme Court was looking for was diversity," said attorney Ken Lawson, who also represents the Black United Front.

"I think Justice Douglas wanted to see one of those four nonattorney spots represented by an individual who would bring a different perspective than what has traditionally been there," he said. "For somebody with her background as an advocate for the downtrodden and her philosophy on justice to be on that board is significant."

City Councilman Pat DeWine, a lawyer who chairs council's Law Committee, had a different take.

"It is totally appropriate to have a variety of viewpoints represented, but it is completely inappropriate for somebody who has signed a letter saying that police are rapists and murderers to be on that kind of panel," Mr. DeWine said. "She has clearly said things that take her outside of the kind of people who can exercise the appropriate discretion or judgment for that position."

E-mail kaldridge@enquirer.com