Credit: Laura Bischoff
Credit: Laura Bischoff
Local defense attorney Ben Swift is asking the Ohio Supreme Court to reinstate his law license, which was suspended for two years after a lengthy disciplinary investigation.
In 2010, a Dayton Daily News story exposed that Swift billed area courts for indigent defense work an average of nine hours a day, seven days a week for 365 days straight. State records from 2008 and 2009 showed that Swift ranked No. 1 in the state for representing people who cannot afford to hire a lawyer on their own. You can read the story here: Ben Swift's court-appointed billings No. 1 in Ohio
The story triggered an investigation by the Dayton Bar Association and a disciplinary case against Swift. In November 2014 the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Swift's license for two years with one year stayed upon the conditions that he submit to one-year of monitoring and he commit no further misconduct. Swift also paid back $50,000 in fees to the state and local counties.
Swift, an attorney since 1995, had had no previous disciplinary record.
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