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Waldoboro attorney Philip Cohen during his sentencing Oct. 15. (D. Lobkowicz photo) |
By Dominik Lobkowicz
A prominent Waldoboro attorney could face up to full disbarment from practicing law in Maine if allegations he engaged in “conduct unworthy of an attorney” and violated certain professional standards are found to have occurred.
Philip S. Cohen, 45, is the subject of a Sept. 17 disciplinary petition before a panel of the Grievance Commission, a group of lawyers and laypeople appointed by the Board of Overseers of the Bar.
In the petition, the Board of Overseers of the Bar alleges Cohen engaged in “conduct unworthy of an attorney” and violated portions of the Maine Rules of Professional Conduct – allegations Cohen’s defense attorney, Walter McKee, denied in his answer to the petition.
As part of the basis for the allegations, the petition echoes earlier allegations Cohen assaulted the same woman on two different occasions: first at his home in November 2013, and again in Jefferson July 12.
A domestic violence assault charge against Cohen regarding the November 2013 incident was dismissed as part of an agreement where he pleaded guilty July 11 to a charge of disorderly conduct and a separate charge of violation of condition of release.
In the agreement Cohen was given a deferred disposition, which meant if he complied with certain conditions over the course of a year he would have only been required to pay fines on the two crimes and serve no jail time.
However, Androscoggin County Assistant District Attorney Andrew Matulis, who prosecuted the case, moved to terminate Cohen’s deferred disposition based on probable cause Cohen violated a condition of the disposition with new criminal conduct – the alleged July 12 assault.
Cohen was not formally charged regarding the July 12 incident, but Superior Court Justice Roland Cole ruled Oct. 3 by a preponderance of the evidence Cohen committed domestic violence assault against the woman.
Cole terminated Cohen’s deferred disposition, and later sentenced Cohen to concurrent sentences of 30 days and 28 days in jail for the two charges. Cohen is currently serving his sentence at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.
In his response to the disciplinary petition, McKee denied both of the assault allegations.
Jacqueline Rogers, the executive director for the Board of Overseers of the Bar, expects the disciplinary petition to be heard by a panel of the Grievance Commission sometime in December or January.
As an outcome from such a hearing, the panel could dismiss a petition if it finds no misconduct under the Maine Bar Rules or dismiss the petition with a warning if the misconduct is minor, there is little or no injury, and little likelihood of repetition.
The panel could also issue a public reprimand to the attorney or, upon a finding of probable cause for suspension or disbarment, initiate an “attorney discipline action” which would be heard before a justice of the Supreme Judicial Court, according to the Maine Bar Rules.
Home release denied
A request for Cohen to serve out the majority of his jail sentence in a home release monitoring program was denied by Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett Oct. 28.
Under statute, an inmate who serves at least one-third of their sentence imprisoned and meets certain other requirements can participate in a “community confinement monitoring program.”
Once assigned to community confinement, an inmate would be required to participate in a structured work, education, or treatment program, and their travel would be restricted to specific times and destinations.
According to Brackett, his denial of Cohen’s application was based on a “totality of circumstances” including the district attorney’s opposition to and the jail administration’s discomfort with Cohen’s release.
“When you put those together with the facts of the case, it’s not a release I’m comfortable with,” Brackett said.
“I’m not saying there wouldn’t be other programs available to him, but certainly not this one,” Brackett said.
Brackett said requests for the home release program are common and while he approves the majority of the requests, Cohen’s is not the first he has denied.
With two days incarceration already served at an earlier date, Cohen had 28 days remaining on his 30-day sentence when he reported to Two Bridges Regional Jail Oct. 20.
