ABOUT ROBERT

Robert joined Spencer Law Firm, LLC after two years as Legal Director for a land use, transportation, and environmental policy group in Seattle.  He previously served as Senior Attorney in the Zone, Environmental, & Nuisance unit of the Columbus, Ohio, City Attorney's Office where he had also served as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney.

Robert has litigated hundreds of cases at the trial and appellate level and actively advised local and state policymakers on land use, homelessness, public health, environmental, and nuisance issues.  Robert previously served as general elections counsel to a number of presidential, statewide, legislative, local, and ballot campaign committees as an Associate at McTigue Law Group also in Columbus.  

Robert has conducted numerous jury trials and litigated cases before federal and state administrative agencies, trial courts, courts of appeals, and state Supreme Courts in Ohio, Washington, and Florida.  He previously served on the Board of Directors of Camp Ten Trees and is currently Vice-Chair and Secretary of the Board of the Just Society Law and Education Center, Inc. He holds a B.A. from Columbia University and a JD from The Ohio State University College of Law.

Representative Trials

Kim v. Big Construction, 2010, No. 08-2-10705-7 (Pierce Super. Ct.), Construction Defect.

State v. Daniels, 2003, Telecommunications Harassment

State v. Keeling, 2004 CRB 5830, Assault & Disorderly Conduct

State v. Hancock2004 CRB 009920, Obstruction of Official Business

State v. Dials, 2004 TRC 132534, DUI

State v. Muncy, 2004 TRD 164308, Drag Racing

State v. Orlandi, 2005 CRB  004598, Assault

Representative Appellate Cases

KAPO v. Kitsap County (II), 160 Wn. App. 250, 255 P.3d 695 (2011), cert den., 171 Wn.2d 1030, pet. for cert. filed, 80 USLW 3246 (2011).

    Appeal of administrative agency final decision and order.

CCNRC v. Clark County, 161 Wn. App. 204, 254 P.3d 862 (2011), rev granted, 172 Wn.2d 1006 (2011).

    Successfully represented private citizens and nonprofit corporations in a challenge to county’s decisions de-designating land parcels as agricultural lands of long-term significant  and re-designating parcels as part of urban growth ares.

Kelly v. County of Chelan, 167 Wn.2d 867, 224 P.3d 769 (2010).

    Filed amicus brief with the Supreme Court on whether a two-year time limit of a permit was automatically stayed during appellate review of a challenge to the underlying permit.

KAPO v. Kitsap County, 152 Wash.App. 190, 217 P.3d 365 (2009). 

    Successfully defended challenge of a group which appealed of a decision of Growth Management Hearings Board, approving county’s Critical Areas Ordinance (CAO).

84 Video Newsstand v. Sartini, et al., Case No. 1:07 CV 3910 (N.D. Ohio 2008).

    A challenge to the constitutionality of an Ohio law regulating the operation of  sexually oriented businesses.  I represented the City of Columbus (while an Assistant City Attorney), a party defendant.  The case has not reached final resolution, but a link to the Order denying the Plaintiffs’ request for preliminary injunctive relief is provided.

Thornton v. Salak, 112 Ohio St.3d 254, 2006-Ohio-6407.

   A case deciding an act of the legislature goes  into effect on the date the Secretary of State determined that a petition seeking to refer the law to the voters contained an insufficient number of valid signatures, rather than the date provided for by the default rules.  The Court found the non-statutory effective date of the legislation was implied by Section 1g, Article II, Ohio Constitution.

State ex rel. Gemienhardt v. Delaware Cty. Bd. of Elections, 109Ohio St.3d 212, 2006-Ohio-1666.

    An expedited election case in which an elector I represented sought a writ of mandamus to compel an elections board and its members to submit a township zoning amendment resolution to the electorate at the next election.

City of Columbus v. John Berecz, et al., 2008-Ohio-2343 (Ohio App. 10th Dist.).

    An appeal of a civil order to Defendant in a civil nuisance action enjoining the nuisance at the Defendant’s property and requiring the property to be closed for all purposes for one year.

State v. Anderson, 2005-Ohio-5243 (Ohio App. 10th Dist.).

    An appeal determining the effect of a change in administrative rules on the qualification of a certificate-holder police officer to administer an admissible blood alcohol test on a BAC Datamaster.

Presentations

1. •Election Law in Washington, April 12, 2012, “Introduction to Campaign Finance Law.” (Lorman Education Services) (invited speaker).
   

2. •Growth Management Act 2009 Conference, November 19-20, 2009, “Overview & Commentary on Changes to GMA Regulations...”
   

3. •Growth Management Act 2008 Conference, December 16, 2008, “GMA Reform from the Environmental Community Perspective.”
   

4. •Hearing Examiners Association of Washington 2008 Annual Conference, October 23, 2008, “At the Intersection of Water Resources and Land Use Law.”
   

5. • The Ohio Senate Civil Judiciary Committee on Nuisance Marshaled Lien Foreclosure Legislation SB-277, May 6, 2008, “Testimony.”
   

6. • United Way of Central Ohio Training Academy, March 13, 2008, “Law 101: Useful Every Day Legal Stuff.”
   

7. • Ohio Housing Conference, Columbus, Ohio, December 5, 2007, “Abating Vacant & Nuisance Property: A Legal Primer for Affordable Housing and Human Service Professionals.” 
   

8. • The John School, Columbus, OH, October 2007, “The Law of Commercial Sex.”
   

9. • Ohio Municipal Attorneys Association Criminal Law Seminar, Dublin, OH, March 2007, “Criminal Nuisance Abatements.”