A. Warren County The lawyer was suspended from practicing law for two years after he attacked two women during a bout of alcohol-fueled violence.

Ohio Supreme Court suspended On Friday, William McClain, a former acting judge with the 88th Air Base Wing, was assigned to a two-year term and given credit for the suspension he had already served.

McClain, who lives in Franklin, Ohio, has been under interim suspension since March 2023, a month after he was found guilty of aggravated assault and causing panic, both felonies, according to the court.

The night McClain spent with his fiancee, daughter and two other women in October 2022 ended with him chasing women in his neighborhood with a gun.

according to courtMcClain attacked his fiancée in a bar parking lot. The women left the bar without McClain, but eventually took his fiancée back to the home they shared. The women tried to take several guns from McClain’s home, which led to an argument. The lawyer attacked his fiancée’s daughter, and she stabbed him in the torso with a kitchen knife.

All four women fled the house and McClain chased after them with a gun. He held his fiancee and daughter at gunpoint, but they managed to escape. According to the court, he fired a shot into the air and went home.

Police, the Warren County Tactical Response Unit and the SWAT team had to place gas canisters in the home to get McClain to surrender.

He pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and causing panic, misdemeanor assault, domestic violence and use of a weapon while intoxicated. McClain was sentenced to three years of community control, which allows him to stay out of prison while under the control of the court. He was also required to receive mental health and substance abuse counseling.

McClain was serving as a judge advocate at Wright Patterson Air Force Base before the attacks on Oct. 29, 2022, according to the opinion. In this position, he provided legal support to officers, airmen, Air Force civilians and more. The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct said he had honorably served in the U.S. military since he was 18.

The board concluded that McClain’s violent outburst was caused by excessive drinking and untreated mental health issues. In its recommendation that McClain be suspended for two years, including the time limit, the board also noted that he had received treatment for his mental health and alcohol abuse and had been sober since his arrest. “When sober, (McClain) becomes a respectful and caring person, a loving father, and a hard-working and capable attorney,” the board said.

The court accepted the board’s recommendation that McClain be suspended for two years with credit for time already suspended; This means that the suspension will be lifted in March 2025. Additionally, McClain will need to meet the following five conditions to be reinstated: terms of sentence, mental health treatment, and more.

This article first appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer: Former Ohio judge suspended after attack

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