Convicted sex offender wants to be lawyer
COLUMBUS — A former Army officer who served time in prison after repeatedly trying to meet girls for sex wants to become a lawyer, a move opposed by the legal profession, according to a case that has reached the state’s highest court.
The Ohio Supreme Court held a Tuesday hearing over the request by John Tynes, convicted in military court of sex-related offenses after his arrest in 1998 in Chicago in an FBI sting operation in which he thought he was meeting a girl younger than 15 for sex.
Before his arrest, Tynes tried unsuccessfully to meet two other girls for sex, both under 15, in Kentucky and Alabama, according to the court’s Board of Commissioners on Character and Fitness, which recommended against Tynes’ request to take the bar exam. Tynes served 19 months of a 30-month military sentence, according to the board.
“He engaged in conduct that demonstrates a disregard for the law and, more importantly, a complete and utter disregard for the health, safety and welfare of others – namely, vulnerable, female children,” the board said in a February report.
Tynes, a 2013 graduate of Salmon P. Chase College of Law at Northern Kentucky University, argues the case is nearly two decades old, he is fully rehabilitated and he didn’t actually engage in sex with a minor.
In addition, no mental health-related issues have been identified that would prevent him from practicing law responsibly, the public would not be jeopardized by allowing Tynes to practice and there is no risk he would repeat the behavior, according to a May 29 filing by Tynes’ attorney, George Jonson.
“His character and fitness to practice law should not be permanently impacted by missteps he took some seventeen years ago,” Jonson argued.
Tynes, a married father of four, sought out girls during a stressful period in his marriage when he saw the relatively new Internet as a refuge, according to the character and fitness board. He is still married to the same woman.
Tynes was honorably discharged from the military following his release from prison, Jonson said.
Jonson also argued that several lawyers in the state were suspended, but not disbarred, when those lawyers were convicted of similar offenses in the past.
Tynes was required to register as a sex offender in states where he lived since his release from prison – Virginia and Arkansas.
Tynes lives in Ohio. Jonson said one of the reasons his client wants to practice law in Ohio is because he would not have to register as a sex offender in the state.
The Cincinnati Bar Association opposes Tynes’ request based on the seriousness of the crime and the fact that Tynes delayed seeking counseling after leaving prison. It says Tynes becoming a lawyer would undermine the legal profession.
“There are simply some actions that should preclude an individual from ever practicing law in the State of Ohio,” according to a July 6 filing by Paul McCartney, attorney for the Cincinnati Bar Association.
However, the Cincinnati Bar Association is not advocating for a bright line rule banning anyone with a sex crime conviction from sitting for the bar, McCartney said clarifying his position during oral arguments in front of the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday.
He argued that Tynes was 50 years old when he committed the crime, and only began counseling after he graduated from law school and began facing resistance to his attempts to sit for the exam.
McCartney also said the law profession would face a public outcry if they allowed Tynes to take the exam to practice law referencing the outcry that followed Derek Farmer passing the bar.
Farmer, who tried to practice law in Cincinnati, is the only person in Ohio to become a lawyer after serving time in prison for murder. He left Cincinnati for Columbus following the uproar caused when he began work as a lawyer.
Jonson rebutted McCartney's arguments stating many of his client's professor have written glowing recommendation for him. He also said that while Tynes began counseling after he graduated, he has continued counseling after his psychiatrist said he no longer needed it.
Northern Kentucky University was the only law school that accepted Tynes after he applied to 20 different school, and he disclosed his conviction and imprisonment on his application, according to the character and fitness board.
The Ohio Supreme Court now has the opportunity for several different decisions. It could allow Tynes to take the bar exam, or it could simply deny him the chance to take it at this time. The court could also follow the recommendation of character and fitness board denying his chance to ever sit for the bar.
The court could also use this case to set a rule barring sex offenders or those convicted of similar offenses from ever practicing law in Ohio.
Enquirer reporter Cameron Knight contributed to this report.