Disciplinary board recommends Cleveland attorney, former stand-up comic, be suspended

Michael Cheselka

The Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct has recommended lawyer Michael Cheselka, shown here in 2014, be suspended from practicing law for two years.The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A well-known Cleveland defense lawyer who was once a nationally renowned stand-up comic should be suspended from practicing law for two years, a disciplinary counsel has recommended.

Michael Cheselka failed to file timely appeals for clients who had already paid him, misled a client who later made national news when a judge ordered his mouth taped shut during a hearing, and made false claims in a motion to get a client convicted of murder out of prison, according to a report issued this week by The Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct.

The board recommended that the court’s justices vote to suspend Cheselka for two years, with the second year stayed as long as he repays one of his former clients and participates in a counseling program for lawyers.

Cheselka has 20 days to file an appeal of the recommendation. Reached by text message Thursday, he said he is “ethically bound to abstain from commenting” on the report or the recommendation.

Cheselka said he plans to continue representing his clients until the Supreme Court issues its final decision, which is expected to take several months.

Cheselka left his native Brecksville for California to pursue a career in comedy, and in the 1980s toured with acclaimed comedian Sam Kinison as part of his Outlaws of Comedy.

Cheselka met his wife, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Nancy Margaret Russo, in the early 1990s on a cruise ship, where Russo, then an attorney, was vacationing and Cheselka was performing stand-up. He returned to Cleveland and pursued his lifelong dream of being a lawyer, according to the report. He graduated from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law in 2003 and has practiced law for 15 years with no prior disciplinary history.

A panel of lawyers working for the board of professional conduct began last year investigating complaints filed against Cheselka and held several days of hearings earlier this year. In one case, Cheselka missed a deadline to file a motion to get a man convicted of murder released from prison after a witness recanted his testimony, and Cheselka made false statements in a 2016 court filing about the reason for the delay, the panel claimed.

The panel also accused Cheselka of lacking competence in a federal case in 2016, when he agreed to file a motion to reduce the sentence of a 63-year-old woman whose children feared she would die in prison, even though such requests are rarely granted.

Cheselka misled another client, Franklyn Williams, into thinking that he would be eligible for early release after serving half of a 14-year sentence, the panel found. At the time, Cheselka justified his behavior because he was trying to convince his client to take a plea deal when faced with charges that could have resulted in a 70-year prison sentence.

In that case, Cheselka told Common Pleas Court Judge Deena Calabrese during a sidebar at Williams’s plea hearing that the only way Williams was going to take the deal was “the vision of sugar plums to allow him to think he’s doing possibly seven years," according to a copy of the transcript reviewed by the panel.

Williams wasn’t eligible for release until he served at least 12 years in prison. He appealed, and the 8th District Court of Appeals overturned his plea after they found Williams was misinformed about his early release. The case was sent back to the trial court.

Williams made national news earlier this year when Judge John J. Russo ordered deputies to tape Williams’s mouth shut during a court hearing.

The board acknowledged that Cheselka negotiated “an excellent outcome” for Williams, and that his attempt to save Williams from himself was “perhaps a laudable motive.” But Cheselka still withheld important information from a client and thus violated rules of professional conduct, the board found.

Cheselka is also accused of misrepresentation in two other cases, and not cooperating with the board’s investigation.

Cheselka and his attorney, Richard Alkire, asked the board to recommend a one-year suspension that was entirely stayed.

The board’s director, Richard Dove, instead recommended the two-year suspension, but asked that the second year be stayed as long as Cheselka repays one of the clients $2,500 within 60 days of the Supreme Court’s final decision, submits to an evaluation by the Ohio Lawyers’ Assistant Program, commits no new misconduct and pays for the cost of the disciplinary hearings. Once the suspension is lifted, the board recommended that Cheselka be put on probation for a year.

To comment on this story, please visit Friday’s crime and courts comments page.

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the judge who handled Franklyn Williams' original sentencing hearing. Judge Deena Calabrese accepted Williams' plea. Judge John J. Russo took over the case after 8th District Court of Appeals overturned Williams' plea.

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