Party Is Over in the Ohio AG ‘Dannimal House’
Amid Scandal, Dann Withdraws As Case Western Law’s Commencement Speaker
Marc Dann is Ohio’s attorney general… for now. But he won’t be Case Western Reserve University’s law school commencement speaker, per an e-mail from the dean this morning.
Dann was an ATL lawyer of the day honoree last month for running a dysfunctional office with staff accused of sexual harassment, DUIs, and ethics law violations. Oh, but there’s more.
On Friday, Dann held a press conference where he revealed his affair with a staffer. Two of his staff were fired and two resigned last week, including the 28-year-old scheduler with whom Dann had the affair. If sleeping with the boss doesn’t get you a raise and a promotion, what’s the point? From the Cleveland Plain-Dealer:
Dann announced the affair at a news conference Friday morning, after investigators released a report on the sexual harassment investigation. The former state senator who once worked in a small Youngstown law firm blamed his inexperience and said he was not equipped to take over a state agency with more than 1,400 employees, including 400 lawyers.“I don’t know how many people here expected me to win the election, but I certainly was not among them. It was a surprise that I won,” he said.
Saying that you didn’t think you would actually win is the worst defense ever (and seems off-topic). Despite that, Dann says he plans to stay in office and clean up the mess. Good luck with that.
Five Ohio newspapers are calling for his head resignation. For ponderings on whether sex scandal politicians should resign, see Law and More and Vanity Fair. Case Western law prof Jonathan Adler wonders if Dann could save his career with a really good apology — in song.
Dann had been slated to be Case Western Law School’s commencement speaker on May 18, but the dean e-mailed the school this morning to announce Dann’s withdrawal. Too bad. His speech could have been fun: “Hey kids, you too can use your Case Western degree to be a total f*#k-up, reward your friends with jobs, sleep with your scheduler, and tap state resources for personal use!”
Dann-related links, collected below. Dean Simson’s email, after the jump.
Editorial Consensus: Dann Must Go [Volokh Conspiracy]
The Trials of Marc Dann [Volokh Conspiracy]
Dann should resign/be forced out if he’s a lousy AG for OH, not because of That Woman et al. [Law and More]
Gov. Strickland on Attorney General scandal [Cleveland Plain Dealer Blog]
Dann draws more outrage [Dayton Daily News]
It’s the Adultery, Stupid! [Vanity Fair]
Dean Gary Simson e-mailed the Case Western law community EARLY this morning announcing Dann’s withdrawal as speaker:
From: Gary Simson
Sent: Monday, May 05, 2008 1:12 AM
To: REDACTED
Subject: [lawstudent] Change in commencement speakerDear Law School Community,
I have been in touch with the office of Attorney General Marc Dann. The Attorney General has indicated that he wishes to withdraw as commencement speaker.
I have already been in contact with another graduate of the law school, and I hope to be able in a couple of days to tell you whom I have lined up as speaker.
Sincerely,
Gary Simson
Dean and Joseph C. Hostetler-
Baker & Hostetler Professor of Law
Do you think Jerry Springer would be willing to speak at Northwestern and Case Western? Or how about the Rev. Jeremiah Wright?
Earlier: Lawyer of the Day: Marc Dann
Oh, The Places You’ll Go, or Law School Commencement Speakers




Comments
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First!
so Case Western is more honorable than that schmucky Chicago school having Jerry Springer.
Good for them.
Case Western to Northwestern's spot on the rankings!
This is pretty hilarious. How stupid of an excuse to say you didn't think you'd win!
". . . and tap state resources for personal use"
Haha, good one!
http://www.dispatchpolitics.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/05/05/dann.html?adsec=politics&sid=101
What a pussy. Everybody's cop-out, from prison guards in Iraq who torture inmates to this criminally incompetent Attorney General, amounts to "we weren't trained well enough." WTF? Do we need an Ohio AG school? If we had one, who would teach it? The previous AG, who his successor no doubt ran against and claimed was no good?
For f-ing up so bad and so often he gets a D. But for giving the worst excuses I've ever heard from anyone, summed up as "they shouldn't have elected me," he gets an F-.
His opponent said all of these things before he was elected. She ran hilarious ads arguing that he was just grossly unqualified for the job. She also pointed out that he was sanctioned by the state supreme court for malpractice. His democratic primary opponent, a former AUSA, said in one of their debates that Dann would not be able to pass the background check to become a federal employee.
Dann responded to all of this with angry assurances that he was qualified and of good character. He cannot now rest on "I'm not qualified" defense.
Ack! Here's hoping this won't stop Ohio's awesome record on predatory lending prosecution...
This guy overtly modeled himself on Eliot Spitzer in attacking supposed financial criminals. I am not making this up. And now we find out he models Spitzer in a different way too.
"Apparently state resources were not all Mr. Dann was tapping. According to Mr. Dann's scheduler...."
He's the Jeremiah Wright of Attorneys General.