Whistleblower Publisher Jim Schifrin Has ACLU Sparkplug As Defense Lawyer: Scott Greenwood To Battle Libel Charge

[UPDATE: 11/16 -- The ACLU confirms it is on the case. It calls Schifrin a citizen journalist and will make that argument in court.]

ACLU Rides To Schifrin's Rescue



CINCINNATI (TDB) -- Before this week is out, the ACLU itself is likely to enter the case and defend Jim Schifrin against a defamation lawsuit filed in Hamilton County by Kentucky lawyer Eric Deters.   ACLU board member Scott Greenwood -- a constitutional and civil liberties attorney in Cincinnati -- has already signed on as Schifrin's defense lawyer, court records show.  Greenwood listed himself as trial counsel in late October.  Schifrin's formal answer to the lawsuit is due Tuesday, Nov. 16.  Greenwood is high cotton, and the fact that he has come to the aid of Schifrin -- whose daily e-newsletter features gossip, political sniping, press bashing, other assorted peccadilloes, and tidbits of news among all those things and more -- will fashion the dispute into an argument about free speech, a free press and First Amendment rights.  The ACLU and its lawyers have a long history of opposing anything they see as censorship.  Schifrin has plenty of critics in Cincinnati -- but he's also an idiosyncratic voice.  He says things out loud in his newsletter that many Cincinnatians whisper about in private.  Click here to visit Greenwood's website. He helped steer the federal civil rights case that led to reforms in the Cincinnati police department earlier this decade. That litigation helped end the department's longstanding reputation for violence against African American males. Here's a sample of Greenwood's biography:

"Scott Greenwood is a nationally known constitutional rights and civil liberties lawyer. Greenwood has been an outspoken advocate for First Amendment rights and police practices reform, particularly with use of force policies. He has been consistently listed by his colleagues in The Best Lawyers in America for fifteen years, in Ohio Superlawyers, and was named Ohio Lawyer of the Year 2003 by Lawyer’s Weekly. His practice focuses on complex and constitutional litigation in the federal courts. Greenwood lectures widely on constitutional rights, civil liberties, and complex litigation. He has served as general counsel to the national ACLU since 2006, and is the ACLU of Ohio Board of Directors national board representative."

Deters claims Schifrin slimed him in August by publishing an item in the Whistleblower that alleged hanky panky, or something close to hanky panky with a former client.  Here's how Deters' lawsuit  described the item that got under his skin:

"On or about August 13, 2010, Defendant posted and published on the Whistleblower, with malicious intent, an article under the title 'Bluegrass Betrothals' which claimed that Plaintiff had given his former client and current employee, Nicole Howell, a 'promise ring' while Plaintiff's 'impending divorce isn't even filed, much less final.'  All of his is completely false."

Whistleblower Lawsuit Tees Off: Cincinnati's Hyde Park County Club Accused of Hiring Undocumented Aliens

CINCINNATI (TDB) -- The toney Hyde Park County Club in Cincinnati could be on the verge of a scandal involving allegations it employed illegal aliens. There also may be problems with fake Social Security numbers. Former food and beverage director Ted Marinakis, who has been at the club for some 24 years, filed a whistleblower lawsuit claiming he was sacked after reporting suspected violations of immigration rules. Marinakis is represented by noted Cincinnati civil rights lawyer Alphonse A Gerhardstein, an experienced litigator whose many victories included a huge settlement from the State of Ohio for prisoner abuses after the Lucasville riot in 1993. Marinakis' lawsuit is 10 pages long and was filed earlier this week in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court. It has been assigned to Judge Dennis Helmick.

The country club has not yet filed its reply to the Marinakis' complaint, which is available on the Hamilton County Clerk of Court's website. About the undocumented workers, the complaint states: "In 2008, Mr. Marinakis learned that HPCC [was] hiring illegal immigrants and then giving them fake Social Security numbers. Mr. Marinakis reported the illegal activity both verbally and in writing to . . . HPCC did not stop its unlawful conduct. Mr. Marinakis reasonably believed that hiring illegal aliens and falsifying identification documents were criminal offenses that were felonies, likely to cause an imminent risk of physical harm to persons or a hazard to public health or safety, or against federal law."

Marinakis also claims the club allowed smoking in violation of the anti-smoking measure passed in 2006. He claims gambling was tolerated. He claims he had been harassed in the past and targeted with pornographic e-mails. Marinakis is seeking an injunction requiring the county club to reinstate him. The lawsuit says that in 2004, Marinakis reported sexual harassment against two female employees and was fired. It says he was reinstated after filing a discrimination charge with the Ohio Civil Rights Commission: "The OCRC found probable cause that HPCC discriminated and retaliated against Mr. Marinakis for engaging in protected activity. As part of a settlement of the charge, the HPCC reinstated Mr. Marinakis to the position of Food and Beverage Coordinator."