WATERVILLE, Maine — The career of a well-known Lincoln County lawyer is in the hands of a grievance committee of the Maine Board of Overseers of the Bar after a hearing Friday in Waterville District Court.
Philip Cohen’s repeated violation of a court order forbidding him to contact his wife was so egregious that his case should be referred to a Maine Supreme Judicial Court justice who would decide whether the Waldoboro lawyer should be suspended or disbarred, argued an attorney representing Maine’s lawyers.
Alan Kelley, an attorney with the Board of Overseers, told a three-person panel that Cohen’s actions harmed “the integrity of the judicial process.” Kelley also accused Cohen, who originally was charged with domestic violence, of manipulating his wife into not testifying against him at a trial, which allowed the lawyer to plead guilty to lesser charges.
Cohen’s attorney countered that his client had served a “de facto suspension” when he served 23 days in jail, with seven days off for good behavior, of a 30-day sentence for violating the terms of his deferred disposition. Walter McKee of Augusta urged the panel to issue a reprimand rather than refer the case to a single justice for a more severe punishment.
Cohen, 45, testified that he had been punished more harshly because his case had drawn the attention of Gov. Paul LePage, who has made eradicating domestic violence a priority of his administration. Cohen said he expected to serve 10 days at the jail, then, be released and serve the remainder of his sentence under home confinement, which would have allowed him to work during the day.
“I was in solitary confinement just because I knew so many inmates,” Cohen, who has practiced in midcoast Maine for 20 years, testified. “I thought, ‘I can do 10 days.’ But [my associate] came to see me, and she had an email from [Lincoln County Sheriff Todd Brackett] that said because of the number of phone calls I have received from the governor’s office, I am denying home confinement.”
McKee had forwarded the email to Michele Hallowell, who showed it to Cohen when she went to visit him at the jail to discuss pending cases.
That was not the only time the governor’s office allegedly got involved in Cohen’s case, according to testimony Friday.
Cohen said that Andrew Matulis, the assistant district attorney from Androscoggin County who prosecuted Cohen, was told by a member of the governor’s staff to “make an example of me.”
Matulis said that he received a call from Carlisle McLean, LePage’s chief legal counsel. The prosecutor said Friday the conversation centered on the governor’s focus on fighting domestic violence. Matulis testified that he recommended Cohen serve six months in jail, the maximum sentence.
Efforts to reach LePage’s office and McLean were unsuccessful late Friday afternoon.
Brackett said that he never received a call from the governor’s office, but someone representing LePage had called the jail. The sheriff said the message relayed to him was that the governor opposed Cohen being released on home confinement.
“I sent an email to Walt McKee on Oct. 28 that said I ‘have reviewed the circumstances of the case as well as a recommendation from the Androscoggin district attorney’s office, the jail administrator and even Gov. LePage’s office,’” Brackett said. “I said I was denying the request for home confinement but would consider other alternatives. He never replied.”
Cohen first was arrested in November 2013 at his home in Waldoboro and charged with domestic violence assault. In December, he was arrested again and charged with disorderly conduct and violation of bail conditions
He was granted a deferred disposition, meaning that if Cohen met a number of conditions over the next year, the state would recommend Cohen be fined $1,000 for the two violations but serve no jail time.
Among the conditions of the deferred disposition, Cohen was prohibited from contacting the victim unless she agreed in writing to the contact, which she did.
Two days later, Cohen was arrested for violating the terms of the deal by allegedly assaulting his wife at a cabin in Jefferson. He was sentenced Oct. 15 to 30 days in jail on one count each of violating conditions of release and disorderly conduct and fined $2,000.
On Friday, McKee described Cohen’s relationship with his wife as “toxic.” The couple’s divorce is pending, according to testimony. They couple obtained a legal separation in March in which Cohen kept their home in Waldoboro, and she received a cash payment of $305,000.
Cohen denied trying “to buy off” his wife to keep her from testifying against him at a trial on a domestic violence charge. He said the settlement seemed fair and what she would normally be granted by a judge in a divorce. Cohen testified that his wife originally planned to use the money to buy a house in the midcoast area in which she could live and open a yoga studio. Shortly after receiving the money, she purchased a home in Costa Rica and moved there after very little planning. Cohen said he visited her there twice in violation of his bail conditions to help her sort out legal and logistical problems.
“In my personal life, I made decisions and did things that I have told my clients not to do,” he said. “I’m sorry for what I did in my personal life.”
Retired District Court judges John David Kennedy and Michael Wescott testified on Cohen’s behalf.
There is no timeline under which the panel, made up of two attorneys, James McKenna and Mary Denison, and a lay person, Emilie van Eeghen, must issue its decision. The panel may dismiss the case, issue a reprimand or find there’s probable cause to ask it to be reviewed by a single justice of the state’s high court.
BDN writer Beth Brogan contributed to this report.