The Toledo Blade Online
The Toledo Blade OnlineThe Toledo Blade Green Edition
Click here to subscribe or renew!
Temp: 26°
Humidity: 88%
Tuesday, 02/09/10
Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here Click Here
Home »   Latest News »   State » 

Click to Receive RSS Feeds!EmailPrint IndexHelp FacebookTwitterDiggDel.icio.usFark

Article published August 19, 2005
Plea allowed Taft to avoid admitting guilt to crimes
1st-time offenders rarely are sentenced to prison

COLUMBUS - Charged with four misdemeanors for breaking state ethics laws, Gov. Bob Taft had several options yesterday. He could have pleaded guilty, not guilty, no contest, or, even, not guilty by reason of insanity.

The governor chose no contest, also known in its Latin form as nolo contendere, a plea dating back to medieval England that verified the truth of the charges without admitting any guilt.

By definition, the plea contrasted sharply with the governor's statement outside the courtroom that he accepted full responsibility for failing to report golf outings and other gifts to the Ohio Ethics Commission.

"I hope the people will understand that these mistakes, though major and important mistakes, were done unintentionally, and I hope and pray that they will accept my apology," Mr. Taft said.

The governor explained that his office had a system in place to record gifts, but it did not adequately monitor the value of golf outings and other social events. All gifts greater than $75 must be included in annual ethics filings.

Two of Governor Taft's former aides pleaded no contest to ethics violations three weeks earlier. Brian Hicks, his former chief of staff, and Cherie Carroll, Mr. Hicks' former assistant, were each fined $1,000.

Despite its long history, the plea is controversial among some legal scholars even though it provides efficiency to what can be a slow-moving justice system by eliminating the need for a trial.

"They allow guilty defendants to avoid accepting responsibility for their wrongs," University of Iowa law professor Stephanos Bibas wrote in a 2003 article for the Cornell Law Review. "Guilty defendants' refusals to admit guilt impede their repentance, education, and reform."

Franklin County Municipal Court Judge Mark S. Froehlich chose to hold Mr. Taft accountable by fining him $4,000 and ordering him to write a letter of apology to the citizens of Ohio.

Although it was possible that Mr. Taft could receive six months jail for each charge, it was unlikely that he would ever find himself behind bars, Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman said.

Ohio's sentencing guidelines stipulate that punishments for a misdemeanor should be guided by three factors: the circumstances of the crime, the offender's prior record, and the likelihood of the offender repeating his crime.

White-collar criminals or people who break ethics laws rarely are given jail time because their crimes were nonviolent, Mr. Berman said.

"We tend to appropriately or inappropriately have more concern about physical harms than economic ones," he said.

The court is typically lenient on individuals without a prior record, such as Mr. Taft. Even those convicted of minor domestic violence and drunken drivers, whose crimes are also misdemeanors, rarely have to serve time for a first offense.

"Very few people convicted of domestic violence get sentenced to jail," said Lara Baker, chief counsel for the Columbus city attorney. She said that first-time offenders are usually put on probation.

Among state officials convicted of ethics misdemeanors, only Paul Mifsud, who was chief of staff during George Voinovich's tenure as governor, was incarcerated. He was sentenced to jail for six months in 1997 for accepting a state contractor's free renovation worth $100,000 on his future wife's house.

Contact Joshua Boak at:
jboak@theblade.com
or 419-724-6050.


Permanent Link

Nation/World
Updated: 5:43 pm
Cribs recalled after 3 deaths >>
State
Updated: 5:40 pm
Weather-related crashes kill 2 on Michigan freeways >>
Accidents/Vehicular
Updated: 5:39 pm
U.S. 24 traffic rerouted, I-75 backed up >>
Nation/World
Updated: 5:39 pm
Transport Canada offers to buy Ambassador Bridge >>
Blade Area
Updated: 5:39 pm
Toledo officials given raises up to 26.9% >>
Blade Area
Updated: 5:38 pm
Officer says 33 dogs seized from suspected puppy mill >>
More news stories
 



click here!

ADVERTISING SECTIONS
Tom Henry
Updated: 7:13 am
Playing the odds can help mitigate disasters >>

S. Amjad Hussain
Updated: 5:53 am
France draws line over Muslim women’s dress >>

Marilou Johanek
Updated: 5:54 am
Sense of superiority drove church to 'help' Haitian children >>

Jack Kelly
Updated: 5:42 am
As Democrats schmooze, Obama’s credibility slides  >>

Jack Lessenberry
Updated: 5:32 am
Granholm failed to make case in last Michigan address >>

Rose Russell
Updated: 6:09 am
Even in South Africa, pols' private affairs are people's business >>

David Shribman
Updated: 9:37 am
Love means never saying budget deficit >>

Mike Sigov
Updated: 12:31 pm
Russia's president brings little to the table >>

Tom Walton
Updated: 5:40 am
Apologies in politics are unprecedented >>

More columnist stories
MOST READ STORIES
1.  High school sports events postponed; library branches closed; colleges, universities closings
2.  Toledo officials given raises up to 26.9%
3.  Officer says 33 dogs seized from suspected puppy mill
4.  U.S. 24 traffic rerouted, I-75 backed up
5.  Northview principal gets words of support
6.  Introducing the new Sports Illustrated cover model, Brooklyn Decker
7.  Movie Gallery chain to shut 7 area stores
8.  Weather check, radar and roads
9.  Knights' Cromwell steps down
10.  Swiergosz sentenced over police standoff
MOST E-MAILED STORIES
1.  Tennis champ accused of phone harassment
2.  Toledo strip club puts cover charge into quake relief
3.  Mental health agency looks to pare $3.5M from services
4.  Homelessness board votes for outside audit; advocate Ken Leslie safe for now
5.  Sylvania lawyer charged in thefts from 2 clients
6.  'Stagecoach Mary' broke barriers of race, gender
7.  MAC basketball struggles with fall from elite
8.  Clyde plans to generate electricity from trash
9.  Equine devotee faces 42 counts of animal abuse
10.  Students, staff navigate Perrysburg High School halls in wheelchairs


AP  News Headlines



AP  Business Headlines



AP  Sports Headlines


AP  Features Headlines
Copyright 2010 The Blade. By using this service, you accept the terms of our privacy statement and our visitor agreement. Please read them.
The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660, (419) 724-6000
To contact a specific
department or an individual person, click here.
The Toledo Times ®