Ethics inquiry leads to federal judge’s resignation as Ohio State trustee
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Enlarge Image Request to buy this photoMarbley’s resignation, effective Jan. 30, is part of a settlement with the commission, which had been investigating whether the judge broke state law by serving as both a university trustee and an adjunct law professor at Ohio State.
The commission announced the deal yesterday and agreed to close its investigation. The Franklin County prosecutor and Ohio auditor also signed off on the agreement.
>> Related PDF documents: Settlement agreement | Marbley's resignation letter | Marbley's released statement
“I’ve been teaching at the university since 2000, and everyone was aware of the fact that I taught. I made it clear on all of my disclosures when I was vetted by the governor’s office,” Marbley said yesterday in an interview with The Dispatch.“I don’t know how we all missed it, but it was missed. That’s all I can say.”
Marbley, 60, added yesterday that he disagrees with the Ethics Commission’s findings but respects the panel’s authority. He said the commission sought his resignation in negotiations.
In addition to resigning, Marbley agreed to teach two semesters without pay at Ohio State.
Gov. Ted Strickland appointed Marbley to the board in 2007, and Marbley is among several federal judges who teach at Ohio State. Marbley teaches trial practice and received yearly salaries ranging from $22,000 to $36,000. District judges received annual salaries of $199,000 this year, according to federal court records.
Marbley has been working without pay at Ohio State since March during the investigation.
“This is about the lawfulness of the payments he received, not the quality of his teaching,” Paul Nick, executive director of the ethics commission, said yesterday.
The commission determined that Marbley’s dual role ran afoul of two state laws, including one that specifically forbids Ohio State trustees from taking professorships that are paid from school accounts. The other bars public officials from “having an unlawful interest in a public contract."
Larry James, an attorney for Marbley, argued that his client fit an exception to that law that allows “continuing” services that started before becoming a public official. James said the teaching was a continuous service that started in 2000.
But James said the commission disagreed because Marbley’s contract as a professor was renewed each year. Nick declined to comment on specifics of the investigation.
Ohio State discovered the apparent conflict in December 2012 as part of an internal audit. On Nov. 8, 2013, OSU lawyers reported it to the ethics commission, asking the group to confirm that Marbley met an exception to the law. The commission instead started an investigation.
But after reviewing their findings at a private meeting in July, the commissioners decided to make a deal with Marbley because of mitigating circumstances. There was no evidence that Marbley had misused his power as trustee to get disproportionate pay, the group found. He was paid the same rate as other federal judges at Ohio State.
In a statement yesterday, Ohio State officials said Marbley would be sorely missed.
“The resolution of this matter will help inform further university action as we continue to work to ensure all appropriate supplemental university and Board protocols and processes are in place to assist trustees in fulfilling their various legal and ethical obligations,” OSU spokesman Chris Davey wrote.
Marbley will teach at Ohio State without pay for the spring 2015 and fall 2015 semesters under the deal. If he continues after that, he said, he likely will receive compensation.
“If the law school wishes me to teach, I will gladly teach,” he said. “It’s one of my joys.”
cbinkley@dispatch.com
@cbinkley
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