Marc Dann's free fall from Ohio's top attorney to Regular Joe is finally over.
The last of the hammers for Dann, ex-Ohio attorney general, fell Tuesday when the Ohio Supreme Court ordered him to give up his law license for six months.
That means Dann, who was practicing foreclosure law in Cleveland at Dann, Doberdruk and Harshman, cannot earn a living as an attorney during the term of the suspension, but he intends to continue to work at that firm.
Dann will help other attorneys there in compliance with Supreme Court rules, which allow a disqualified or suspended attorney to continue employment, but under certain, strict rules: Dann is prohibited from having direct contact with clients or handle client trust funds or money.
A spokeswoman for the firm said in an email the firm ''has been prepared for the various routes'' the court's decision could have taken and ''has been upfront'' with all its clients.
As far as what Dann will be doing, ''the firm will determine how to best utilize his services,'' she said in another email.
In addition, Dann's name will be removed from the firm's masthead during the suspension.
Under the court's rules, Dann or the firm must register the employment with the court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel and provide a description of duties or services that will be done or provided.
The rules also say that before the employment can begin, disciplinary counsel must acknowledge the registration has been received.
Let's recap Dann's sudden rise and fall.
Dann, an Ohio senator, with only two election wins under his belt, the other to the school board in Liberty, announces in November 2005 he is going to run for attorney general. And surprise - it was to him, he admits later - he beat Republican Betty Montgomery, a previous attorney general, in the November 2006 election.
Thus begins in January 2007 a turbulent 17 months in office.
He resigned in May the next year amid a sexual harassment scandal, which as it unfurled, Dann admitted to having an affair with a staffer.
He pleaded guilty in May 2010 to two misdemeanor ethics charges, the result of an investigation done by the Ohio Ethics Commission. The investigation also toppled two of Dann's top aides, who pleaded guilty to ethics charges, as did his former wife.
The charges that led to his losing his license, allegations that he violated the attorney code of conduct, were related to misdemeanor ethics charges.
The Trumbull County Board of Elections will meet Tuesday, the last day they have to certify the official results from the
Nov. 6 presidential election.
We'll find out then the fate of two very close tax issues that were on the ballot: a 4.65-mill Mathews school levy and a 1-mill fire levy in Hartford were separated from winning or losing by just a slim few votes.
In Mathews, the difference was 16 votes and Hartford, it was much less, only a three-vote difference. Both levies were ahead after Election Day.