Tulsa World reports
Ron Durbin was arrested after an incident in which he had attempted to surrender at the Tulsa County Courthouse, turning around after the group with him was told they could not follow.
The incident was livestreamed on his law firm’s Facebook page and showed deputies physically restraining Durbin as he lay face-down on the concrete.
“After review of the video and all pertinent reports regarding this incident, the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office believes our deputies acted appropriately and within state law and our own policies and procedures,” TCSO spokeswoman Casey Roebuck said in a statement later Wednesday afternoon. She said Durbin was cleared in a medical check to be booked into jail.
The lawyer who has set himself up as Oklahoma’s premier cannabis attorney could be facing disbarment after multiple complaints taken under investigation by the state bar.
A complaint against Ronald E. Durbin II filed Friday with the Oklahoma Supreme Court details several allegations of professional misconduct dating back to 2017. Disciplinary options, per statute, range from private or public censure to suspension of license to full disbarment.
The complaint against Durbin alleges a pattern of professional misconduct in using his status as a licensed attorney to apply pressure when not getting his way: Cross me, and you’ll pay — in court.
Grievances noted in the complaint include incidents involving Durbin at City Hall reported in the Tulsa World. Officials allege Durbin was making inappropriately broad records requests without providing any documentation of the request.
While livestreaming on Facebook, Durbin tells a city finance official he will sue her for violating the Open Records Act, a misdemeanor, claiming the city would not defend her in court. According to the OBA complaint, after a city official intervened due to Durbin’s aggressive behavior, he “finally left the building as he threatened to sue everyone.”
That incident came about a week after a similar Durbin livestream from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs. He was trying to immediately access open records related to an alleged criminal conspiracy involving attorneys working with cannabis licensees. OBNDD spokesman Mark Woodward alleged Durbin threatened him with a lawsuit that he would bill at $450 per hour for an Open Records Act violation.
In another livestream on March 31, 2023, Durbin refused to sign in when visiting City Hall in connection to an open records request involving City Councilor Grant Miller, a clerk at Durbin’s firm.
After accusing a security officer of being a Nazi for requiring him to present identification, Durbin threatens he would seek the arrest of any guard who put hands on his person. The officer can be seen on the livestream using his arm to block Durbin, who was denied access to the administrative offices, which Durbin characterized as “being touched aggressively.”
On Tuesday, a warrant was issued for Durbin’s arrest on a misdemeanor charge filed in Tulsa County District Court alleging that officer was struck in the March 31 disturbance. According to a probable cause affidavit, video evidence was submitted that shows Durbin’s right fist making contact with the officer’s chest.
Through his client Freeman Culver, president of the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce, Durbin had already filed suit against the officer in that incident — along with the city, Mayor G.T. Bynum, other city officials, multiple guards and the security firm. At issue in that civil case is whether the public, presumably Culver, was blocked from accessing open records per statute.
In a written response to the OBA, Durbin said the Greenwood Chamber is “extremely happy with my services, and frankly, if they knew about this, they would probably respond negatively to the OBA for attacking an attorney trying to stand up for a minority community that is use (sic) to government deprivation of rights.”
Durbin added in his statement that he believes state actors are retaliating against him for his attempt to sue OBA for negligence related to the cannabis conspiracy case.
“I cannot wait to fight it out, publicly. The OBA is corrupt, and it serves the attorneys and citizens of this state terribly,” Durbin said in a Facebook post.
One of the attorneys who filed a grievance represents Metrc, the inventory firm contracting with Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority. He stated he had never filed a bar complaint in his 27-year career but felt Durbin’s actions are undermining public confidence in Oklahoma’s judicial system.
Tulsa County District Judge Sharon Holmes and her bailiff are among those who filed a grievance against Durbin after an incident outside her courtroom on Nov. 22, 2022. Durbin was being interviewed outside Holmes’ courtroom in his capacity as attorney for a City Council candidate in an election challenge.
While on a livestream for his law firm’s Facebook page, Durbin hurled insults and other harassing statements at Holmes that he has repeated in livestreams as recent as late Monday evening.
In addition to Holmes and two Tulsa court bailiffs, those who filed grievances against Durbin include the general counsel for Oklahoma Bar Association, a former personal injury client, a Tulsa dispensary owner, his ex-wife’s brother, a Tulsa city official, a consultant for cannabis legislation, and two private-practice attorneys.
A professional responsibility tribunal hearing is set at the Oklahoma Bar Center in Oklahoma City from Sept. 6-8.
