The Supreme Court of Ohio today indefinitely suspended the law license of Dayton attorney  Marc N. Greenberg for engaging in sexually explicit online conversations with undercover police agents whom he believed to be 12 and 13-year-old girls, and using his computer webcam to transmit obscene video and still photos to those persons.  

Greenberg’s license has been under an interim suspension since November 2010, when the court received notice of his convictions on federal felony counts of possessing child pornography and transferring obscene material to minors.

In today’s  5-2 per curiam (not authored by a single justice) opinion, the court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Greenberg’s conduct violated the state disciplinary rules that prohibit an attorney from engaging in illegal conduct that reflects adversely on his honesty or trustworthiness, and engaging in conduct that adversely reflects on the lawyer’s fitness to practice law.

In setting the appropriate sanction for his misconduct as an indefinite suspension from practice with no credit for the time served under interim suspension, the court noted the aggravating factors that Greenberg acted with a selfish motive, committed multiple offenses over a period of several months and intended to prey on vulnerable children.  It also noted mitigating factors, including Greenberg’s cooperation with the disciplinary process and acknowledgement of the wrongfulness of his actions, his entry into ongoing therapy for the diagnosed mental disorder of paraphilia, the absence of a prior disciplinary record, and the severe sanctions and penalties imposed for his criminal violations, which have included financial ruin, public humiliation, and service of a 19-month federal prison term.

The court’s majority opinion was joined by Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and Justices Paul E. Pfeifer, Judith Ann Lanzinger, Sharon L. Kennedy, and Judith L. French.

Justices Terrence O’Donnell and William M. O’Neill dissented. Justice O’Donnell indicated that he would disbar Greenberg. Justice O’Neill indicated that he would grant credit against today’s indefinite suspension for the time Greenberg’s license has been under an interim suspension.

Please note: Opinion summaries are prepared by the Office of Public Information for the general public and news media. Opinion summaries are not prepared for every opinion, but only for noteworthy cases. Opinion summaries are not to be considered as official headnotes or syllabi of court opinions. The full text of this and other court opinions are available online.

2012-2066. Dayton Bar Assn. v. Greenberg, Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-1723.
On Certified Report by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline, No. 11-092.  Marc Norman Greenberg, Attorney Registration No. 0077480, is indefinitely suspended from the practice of law in Ohio.
O’Connor, C.J., and Pfeifer, Lanzinger, Kennedy, and French, JJ., concur.
O’Donnell, J., dissents and would disbar Greenberg.
O’Neill, J., dissents and would grant Greenberg credit for time served under his interim felony suspension.
Opinion: http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2013/2013-Ohio-1723.pdf

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