State v. McDermott

This is an appeal from a judgment of the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas in which the trial court found appellant, attorney John Lawrence, in criminal contempt of court. The Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers has filed a brief amicus curiae in support of John Lawrence.

The facts giving rise to this appeal are as follows. On May 30, 1990, appellant, Jeffrey McDermott, was indicted for the June 1985 aggravated murder of Elwood McKown. On October 10, 1990, McDermott filed a document asserting that the Lucas County Prosecutor’s Office planned to call McDermott’s former attorney, John…