CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has temporarily barred the Cleveland Heights attorney charged with bringing methamphetamine into the jail and possessing a child porn image from practicing law.
Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy late Wednesday granted a request from the state’s disciplinary counsel imposing a remedial suspension on Eric Norton while a complaint against his license is investigated.
The request, which was viewed by cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer before the court agreed to seal it, said that Norton tested positive for methamphetamine when he was booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail after his arraignment last month.
cleveland.com reached out to Norton Thursday morning for comment. He said this week before the suspension was handed down that he is being tested daily for drugs and would be willing to submit to further monitoring in order to avoid the suspension.
Norton, 49, is representing himself against charges that include the second-degree felony of illegal use of a minor in nudity oriented material, as well as third-degree felonies of illegal conveyance into a detention facility, drug possession and tampering with evidence.
The charges stem from a Dec. 15 incident at the county jail. Norton was trying to visit a woman being held in jail at 8:30 p.m., according to an incident report. Multiple sources said the woman was not Norton’s client.
Norton began walking through metal detectors and emptied his pockets into a plastic tray, then quickly grabbed something out of the tray and walked to a bathroom outside the jail’s entrance inside the Justice Center, the report says.
Deputies followed Norton into the bathroom and found a bag of crystals that they suspected was methamphetamine, the report says.
Norton was not arrested. Investigators sent the container to a regional lab for testing. Norton’s DNA was on the bag, and the drugs tested positive for methamphetamine, prosecutors said.
Investigators got a search warrant for Norton’s cellphone and iCloud accounts, and they discovered a pornographic video of what Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Commander Dave Frattare said appeared to be a young girl, according to court records.
Norton has filed a request to have separate trials on the child porn and drug charges. A judge has not yet ruled on the issue.
He has practiced law since 1999.
