Latest / Brian Thomas / Steve Goodin - Legal Matters and Executive Sessions

Transcript

Steve Goodin - Legal Matters and Executive Sessions · Brian Thomas

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: He talks Station seven forty nine. I think about PARCV
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: talk station Happy Tuesday inside Scoop with Wright Bart and
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: his plus that Daniel Davis Deep Dive for the next
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: hour and Dusty Rhoades on how property taxes work and
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: Ken's School, Zoo's and first responders survived without them Without
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: further ado though, God bless you, welcome back to the
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: fifty five Kersey Morning Show. In matters involving legal questions,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: not good to rely on me anymore. It's been a
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: while since actively practice law. Steve Gooden, though with the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: outstanding law firm, Reporter Wright joins the program to explain
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: these matters formal counselmen. He is Steve Gooden. They went
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: into executive session yesterday to talk about we think maybe
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: the settlement of this lawsuit, the Hinton family lawsuit, which
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: hasn't been filed, but to talk about settlement. Cheryl Long,
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: it was revealed, was in settlement discussions with the Hinton family.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Their son, eighteen year old was killed by a police
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: officer because while he was in a stolen car fleeing
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: police and then he turned around with a gun pointed
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: in an officer and ended up losing his life. They
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: think that is a settlement worthy Now well, Christopher Smithen
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: was on the program this morning saying, if you go
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: into executive council, you must let the public know the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: subject matter, not the substance of what goes on in there,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: but at least the subject matter before going into executive
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: council and said someone should file a lawsuit because they
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: didn't do that. Steve Gooden, legal expert, is that a
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: justiciabal controversy?
• 1:23
  Speaker 2: You know what sure is? I did take a look
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: at the agenda. Brian, First, good morning, and second Smitherman
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: is typically the case is correct and under a high law.
• 1:33
  Speaker 2: There are only two reasons you can go into executive session.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: One is to discuss potential litigation, which is apparently what
• 1:40
  Speaker 2: happened here. And number two, you can go in to
• 1:43
  Speaker 2: discuss a personnel matter, particularly a sensitive personnel matter regarding
• 1:47
  Speaker 2: someone who may have to be fired or what have you.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: I mean, those are reasons you're allowed as a public
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: official to go in and talk with your legal counsel
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: and your city manager off the record, as it were.
• 2:00
  Speaker 2: There's an attorney client privilege that attaches, so that in
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: and of itself isn't illegal. That is just that's a
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: place where state law trumps the local law. But that said,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: there's two big things about executive session. Legally. Number one,
• 2:13
  Speaker 2: you have to state which category it is that you're
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: talking about. Yesterday's agenda did not do that. We know
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: because of all the various leaks at City Hall that
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: they were talking about a potential hidden settlement, but they
• 2:27
  Speaker 2: didn't acknowledge that publicly. That's number one. Number Two, you
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: can't vote on the settlement, or actually vote on anything
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: during executive session. The ultimate decisions have to be made
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: out in a public forum. So for instance, this eight
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: point one million dollar travesty of a settlement they gave
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: to the George Floyd protesters earlier this month. I mean,
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: they did have to actually go into regular session to
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: vote on that. We presume they had had prior executive
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: sessions about it. We didn't know. They're not doing a
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: very good job of putting out there that the executive session,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: you know, what the subject matter of them are. But
• 3:07
  Speaker 2: I mean that's really where this is. I mean, they
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: really should be telling people at least the general subject
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: matter of what's going on here. It's a horrible look,
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: but I guess, good thing for the taxpayers. City hall
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: leagues like a sieve and always has.
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it does. And thankfully we have outlets that let
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: us know actually what's going on behind the scenes, because
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: they apparently are talking and coming out of the closed
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: door session, the executive session. No single city council member
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: of these spokespeople for the city manager or the city
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: manager or the mayor set a peep. They just refused
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: comment to the enquire and of the local reporters on
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: what they what they They could have said, we were
• 3:44
  Speaker 1: talking about a potential settlement. They're allowed to say what
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: the subject matter is. They just couldn't talk about what
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: specifically happened in the meeting, right.
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's exactly right. I mean, look, I mean, like
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: I said, there's only to mine. I mean, look, and
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: I've been advising the municipalities on and off for twenty
• 3:59
  Speaker 2: five five years. There's really only two reasons why you
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: have an executive session. And you're really supposed to put
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: that at least in the record, if not on the agenda.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: You know, I actually pulled the paper agenda off the
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: city's webside. It just says executive you know, session pursuant
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: to Ohio a biased code section. Blah blah blah. That's
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: all it says. So, you know, particularly if they're considering
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: doing something this sensitive, this unpopular, I mean, just to
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: be very clear, what apparently is being contemplated here, you know,
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: is you know, a settlement with this Hinton family where
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: the father is currently facing trial for murdering a sheriff's deputy,
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: a totally innocent sheriff's deputy, purportedly because he watched the
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: video of his son being shot by police Cincinnati police
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: and goes off and does this like senseless, horrific crime.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: So I think one of the big issues is we
• 4:52
  Speaker 2: don't really have a law in Ohio as some states
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: do that would ban the father from getting some of
• 4:59
  Speaker 2: the pro seeds. Now, in all likelihood he's going to
• 5:01
  Speaker 2: be in jail the rest of his life. But I
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: think it will be major Hartburn. Even if this was
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: a band shooting of the young hunt and kid, which
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: every indication I've heard is that it is not. The
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: prosecutor's office declined to prosecute the police officer, the city
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: has taken no action. I have not watched the video,
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: but I am told that you can see that the
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: young man had a gun and was fleeing from a
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: stolen car, classic circumstances, and which use of force would
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: typically be justified by a police officer. Why they would
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: be trying to settle that in the first instance is
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: a big question mark. And then a huge question mark
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: is how and why would they be looking at giving
• 5:39
  Speaker 2: money to a family where the father has all but
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: admitted to murdering a police officer. Well, I mean it's
• 5:48
  Speaker 2: a politically sentative situation times ten.
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: Well, since this idea that there was a settlement going
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: on behind the scenes came out of the blue question
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: I had the other day and I've been told, yes,
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: the city solicitor does she have the authority to sell
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: I mean, the city solicitor apparently has the authority to
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: settle lawsuits. They don't need council's approval. City solicitor works
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: for the city manager. Does that mean that if the
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: city manager and the solicitor decide they're going to write
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: a check for X amount of the hitting family, that
• 6:11
  Speaker 1: the council really has no control over that.
• 6:15
  Speaker 2: Well, it depends on the circumstances. On Alan Brian, I mean,
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: there are I recall under the city's current administrative code,
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: the city manager can settle smaller lawsuits, but I can't
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: remember what the exact monetary cutoff is. The council must
• 6:32
  Speaker 2: approve a lawsuit, certainly anything in the seven figures, which
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: is typically what happens in a wrongful death scenario. So
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: there are some smaller suits that the city solicitor and
• 6:45
  Speaker 2: the city manager can settle, but nothing like this. So
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: if you're going to actually move bigger amounts of money,
• 6:53
  Speaker 2: council has to approve it. Well, they're allowed to. I mean,
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: they routinely settle small thunder bender case with city vehicles
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: and things of that nature. But the big things they
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: have to get approval, all.
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: Right, And I know right of time, Joe, But I
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: got to ask this one question. The Bell's been wrong.
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: They went into executive council sais without mentioning why they
• 7:11
  Speaker 1: were doing it. If that is an actionable offense, what's
• 7:13
  Speaker 1: the legal recourse, what's the remedy for that? Because the
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: Bell's been wrong, they had the meeting.
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you're right, I mean, I mean typically what someone
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: would do would be a taxpayer would file aolitical a
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: taxpayer lawsuit saying that they feel that their rights have
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: been violated, and you try to get into the Common
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: Police Court locally and see if you could convince a
• 7:34
  Speaker 2: judge to award some sort of damages to that taxpayer
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: as a deterrent to these guys. You know, my concern
• 7:43
  Speaker 2: is that that really they don't seem to be all
• 7:45
  Speaker 2: that interested in being deterred, and they don't really seem
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: to be paying any political price right now the way
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: the city voters are responding. So you file a lawsuit,
• 7:56
  Speaker 2: but what good would do I really don't.
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: Know, Maybe just to make a point judgment suitable for framing.
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: That's why we have legal expert Steve Goodin from the
• 8:03
  Speaker 1: law firm Reporter Right to help us out with these matters. Steve,
• 8:06
  Speaker 1: thank you so much for gring to join the program
• 8:08
  Speaker 1: late in the game. And you're always welcome here, and
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: you know we're going to be calling you anytime we
• 8:11
  Speaker 1: need sound legal advice and explanation.
• 8:15
  Speaker 2: Hey, anytime, Brian, you guys take care.
• 8:17
  Speaker 1: Happy New Year, my friend, Happy New Year. Five to
• 8:18
  Speaker 1: seventy or seven fifty seven fifty five K see the
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: talk station. I'm going to hear the inside scoop with
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: John Carney telling us