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Former Portsmouth city councilman Michael Mearan is now submitting filings for himself in the case alleging him of sex trafficking, court records say.
Mearan, who was indicted in October, faces 18 counts spanning human trafficking, racketeering and compelling and promoting prostitution. The charges surround alleged criminal activity that occurred between 2003 and 2018.
As his own attorney, Mearan would be in a position to cross-examine his alleged victims.
“It’s been said in the past that a lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost told The Enquirer Wednesday. “A trial, in this case, will afford a real-world test of that old saying.”
Mearan was the focus of an Enquirer investigative report in March 2019 into sex trafficking in the small city 100 miles east of Cincinnati along the Ohio River. He has consistently denied the allegations.
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Mearan appeared in court for his arraignment on Oct. 26 with attorney Richard Nash. But a case document filed on Nov. 18 states Mearan entered a “pro se appearance,” meaning he took action in his case rather than another attorney. Court records filed from that date began showing Mearan as his own counsel.
Pro se
In Latin, “pro se” translates to “for oneself” or “on one’s own behalf.”
Legally, Mearan has a constitutional right to represent himself. Non-attorney defendants do, too, says former Hamilton County prosecutor and municipal court judge Mike Allen.
“The guy is an experienced criminal defense lawyer,” Allen said. “And he’s pretty much, not literally but figuratively, fighting for his life. And maybe he just feels that he’s the only one that can do it.”
That said, Allen says it’s “never a good idea” to defend yourself, no matter how good of an attorney you are.
When a case is personal to you, you can miss things another attorney might catch, Allen said. And with cross-examining witnesses Mearan has defended in the past, things might get confusing.
But things could get more than just confusing. Prominent Cincinnati attorney R. Scott Croswell III says State Prosecutor Jennifer Rausch could argue Mearan has a conflict of interest in cross-examining those witnesses, in which case Cosgrove would appoint co-counsel.
Rausch did use that argument at the arraignment, in regard to Nash’s continued counsel in the case. When judge Patricia Cosgrove asked Nash if he was staying on as Mearan’s attorney, he said yes.
“Your honor, it is my intent (to stay on the case),” Nash told Cosgrove during the arraignment. “The state of Ohio, though, alleges that because of our– the size of our community, that there may be a conflict with some witness or someone out there. I’m waiting on them to let me know.”
Cosgrove then confirmed that there might be a conflict of interest if Nash had represented one of the alleged victims previously.
It is unclear if Nash will continue to be attached to the case. Nash declined to comment Wednesday afternoon.
Mearan also declined to comment when The Enquirer called him Wednesday afternoon but said “the documents speak for themself.” He did not specify Nash’s status as his lawyer.
‘Incredibly terrifying’
Jeanne Allert, founder and executive director of The Samaritan Women, a human trafficking social services organization based in Baltimore, Maryland, does not have direct knowledge of this case. However, she does have experience with victims of sex trafficking and understands the psychological components of such a trial.
And a perpetrator of human trafficking cross-examining his alleged victims would allow him another display of his power and manipulation, she said.
“Advocates will often say in modern-day slavery there are not physical chains, it’s the chains on the brain,” Allert said.
Through grooming, perpetrators go through the work of understanding their victims in order to better control them, Allert said. And a perpetrator could potentially use their knowledge of a victim to intimidate a witness on the stand.
Allert says she has taken survivors of human trafficking to court cases in the past. In some instances, the victims know their abuser is going to be imprisoned and that they won’t have to see them again – but that doesn’t make it any easier.
“It’s still incredibly terrifying to go through that experience,” she said.
Personal contact with a jury, not under oath
There are benefits to defending oneself in a case, Croswell says.
For starters, Mearan can present opening and closing statements without being under oath. The judge would inform the jury that those arguments are opinions and not to be used as evidence. But “who knows what sways a jury,” Croswell said.
“The real key to it is this idea that a person who is representing himself could do it to his advantage to have personal contact with the jury where he’s not subject to cross-examination,” Croswell said. “And I’m sure that a judge will, you know, see that there’s no undue advantage gained by that.”
Both Croswell and Allen predict the judge will likely appoint co-counsel in the case.
“It’s just fraught with problems,” Allen said.
The next telephone pretrial is scheduled for Dec. 8 at 2 p.m., according to court records.
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