Clutch Justice Editor Files Ethics Complaint Against Lockport City Attorney Michael Carroll—And Exposes Just How Broken the Oversight System Really Is

The Complaint and What It Alleges

Michael Carroll was convicted of Operating While Intoxicated in Michigan in 2020 with a blood alcohol content of 0.17, qualifying for enhanced-penalty consideration under Michigan law. He was sentenced to a fine. He retained his position as Deputy City Manager and Chief Legal Officer for the City of Portage. He subsequently transitioned to the role of City Attorney for Lockport, Illinois. Neither transition was accompanied by any public record of disclosure to either state bar or any resulting discipline.

Michigan Court Rule 9.120(A) requires attorneys licensed in Michigan to report criminal convictions. Illinois Supreme Court Rule 761(a) imposes a parallel obligation. Illinois Rules of Professional Conduct 8.3 and 8.4 address reporting obligations and misconduct. The basis of the complaint filed with the Illinois ARDC is straightforward: a licensed attorney with a documented criminal conviction had a disclosure obligation in both states and, on the available public record, did not meet it.

Illinois Accepted It. Michigan Built a Wall.

The Illinois ARDC accepts complaint submissions by email. The process is accessible, documented on the agency’s website, and functional for a member of the public without legal training. A complaint was compiled, the relevant rules cited, and the submission made directly to the ARDC.

Michigan’s process is different. The Attorney Grievance Commission requires a complainant to print, sign, and mail two physical copies of its complaint form. There is no email option. There is no online submission portal. The AGC website links to a PDF form with a cover letter addressed to Grievance Administrator Kristin Fernandez.

This is not an incidental inconvenience. Attorney oversight systems that are difficult to access produce fewer complaints, fewer investigations, and less accountability. That outcome benefits attorneys under investigation, not the public the system is meant to protect. The Michigan process is deliberately antiquated, and it should be changed.

Why the Carroll Case Is the Right Vehicle for This

Carroll’s documented career arc makes this a clear accountability case. A public official in a legal role, convicted of a criminal offense with a BAC more than twice the legal limit, continued to serve as a city’s chief legal officer, moved across state lines into another city attorney role, and did so with no public record of disclosure to either bar and no resulting discipline. If the self-reporting obligation means anything, it means something here. If it doesn’t apply here, it’s not clear what it applies to.

The prior Clutch Justice investigation into Carroll’s conviction — including the arrest footage and court records — is documented in full at the link below.