| ► Attorney James Hartke of Cincinnati; cowardly bully |
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Attorney James Hartke of Cincinnati; cowardly bully 
The state of Ohio presented James Richard Hartke with a law license in 1973 after he graduated from the University of Cincinnati Law School.
The Cincinnati Bar Association Grievance Committee found James guilty of the following misconduct.
In one matter, James represented Jacqueline Usher in a divorce proceeding. The client owed James over $5,000 in legal fees. James agreed to accept one half of the distribution from his client’s ex-husband’s 401(k) plan to satisfy the legal fees.
Usher subsequently met with another attorney to discuss filing for bankruptcy. The attorney told her that the fees she owed James were dischargeable in bankruptcy. However, Usher never told James she was considering bankruptcy because she feared him and how he might react.
James then began to call his client at work to determine the status of the distribution and when the client refused to respond to his class, James then confronted her at her apartment where she was staying with her six-year old daughter. A heated discussion ensured when James demanded that Usher pay his fees. When it became clear that Usher wouldn’t pay, James threatened her with criminal action. James then demanded that Usher go to the bank and withdraw funds to pay his fees. Usher went to the bank, but she was so upset that the bank tellers escorted her to the back of the bank and called the police.
As a consequence of his misconduct, the cheerleaders for Attorney Misfits sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court punished James by gifting him with a complimentary stayed180-day suspension of his law license. In truth, the comedians sitting on the Ohio Supreme Court didn’t mete out any meaningful punishment to Betty.
As we speak (ca. November 2012) James practices at 917 Main Street in Cincinnati, Ohio.
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