Published: Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Attorney answers to high court
COLUMBUS — Fear for his career kept Youngstown-area attorney Richard Olivito from getting the psychiatric evaluation ordered by a state disciplinary board four times since March.
Olivito, 48, appeared before the Ohio Supreme Court on Tuesday to explain why he should not be found in contempt for ignoring the orders of the high court's board that oversees attorney discipline in the state.
After the hearing, the court took the matter under advisement and said it would rule later.
According to Lori Brown, who represented the Office of Disciplinary Counsel and the Mahoning County Bar Association on the matter, a joint motion was filed in February and Olivito was ordered in March to see a Cleveland psychiatrist for an evaluation.
Several justices questioned Olivito on why he did not comply with the order.
"Why are you so resistant to getting help when it's so obvious to others you need to be evaluated?" one asked, adding that Olivito was dealing with the matter as an adversarial issue while it was just an attempt to help him.
Olivito began practicing law in Ohio in 1989. He was suspended from the practice of law in 2006 but was eligible for reinstatement in July.
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