Blair seeks out-of-county judge

Attorney Cohen has had dealings with county’s judicial staff

HOLLIDAYSBURG -- Blair County is seeking an out-of-county judge to preside over the case of an Altoona attorney accused of records tampering and related offenses associated with a falsely dated document.

Michael B. Cohen, 39, was scheduled to appear in front of Magisterial District Judge Paula M. Aigner Tuesday morning for a preliminary hearing. However, Aigner said the hearing would have to be rescheduled because she and the other Blair County magisterial district judges had recused themselves from the case.

Cohen faces felony charges of hindering prosecution and tampering with public records along with misdemeanor charges of tampering with evidence and interfering with the administration of law.

The charges stem from a criminal complaint filed by detectives with the Blair County District Attorney's Office that claimed Cohen presented a document on March 15 for a judge's signature, but dated the document for March 14 to help his client avoid arrest for violating a protection-from-abuse order.

Defense attorney Dan Kiss said he would be reviewing the evidence and denied that his client intentionally misled anyone.

The charges against Cohen accuse him of hindering a client's apprehension on charges and of obstructing the administration of law by submitting the falsely dated document to Judge Ilissa Zimmerman, then presenting that document to Jones to the benefit of his client.

The charges come after Cohen was disbarred for an unspecified reason "on consent" after his submission of a resignation statement, resulting in the order filed March 8 with the Supreme Court's chief clerk.

The disbarment goes into effect on April 7, reflecting what has been the Disciplinary Board of the state Supreme Court's practice of allowing 30 days for the disbarred attorneys to wrap up their practice.

Kiss said the charges filed Tuesday have nothing to do with the reasons Cohen is surrendering his law license.

Mirror Staff Writer Rachel Foor is at 814-946-7458.