Clark C. Griffith, 70, currently a Minneapolis lawyer at CCG, P.A. and sports-law expert and the son of former Minnesota Twins owner Calvin Griffith has been charged with indecent exposure in Ramsey District Court. According to the charges, this past January Griffith allegedly unzipped his pants in front of a William Mitchell College of Law female student and asked her to touch his penis. At the time, Griffith was an adjunct professor at the school but has since resigned his position.
Before going into law, Clark Griffith was part owner and Treasurer of the Minnesota Twins with responsibilities for broadcasting, player development, scouting, and governmental relations. Griffith was also a lobbyist for the bill authorizing the building of the Metrodome and was instrumental in developing the agreements for the Twins use of the Metrodome and Met Stadium. Griffith also served as Chairman of the Board of Major League Baseball Properties, from 1975 to 1984.
Griffith has been summoned to appear in court June 12 for arraignment on the charge, a misdemeanor offense. He faces up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine for the indecent exposure charge.
UPDATE as of June 13, 2012 – Clark Griffith entered an Alford plea of guilty on June 12th to an indecent-exposure charge stemming from an incident with a St. Paul law student earlier this year. Griffith’s attorney, Paul Engh, said that the plea deal negotiated with the city attorney’s office calls for no jail time and for the case to be dismissed in a year. The Alford plea to the misdemeanor charge came on the day of Griffith’s scheduled arraignment in Ramsey County District Court and allows him to maintain his innocence while acknowledging there was sufficient evidence to be found guilty.
UPDATE as of July 26, 2012 (Source – Minneapolis Star Tribune) – Clark Griffith, a Minneapolis attorney whose late father, Calvin, owned the Minnesota Twins, was ordered to undergo sex-offender counseling after exposing himself to a St. Paul law student who considered him a mentor. The Jan. 24 incident on St. Paul’s Victoria Street triggered panicked texts and phone calls from Griffith to the 24-year-old student imploring her to drop her complaints, the charges say. But on Thursday, Griffith, 70, stood for sentencing before Ramsey County District Judge George Stephenson, listening as prosecutor Steve Christie read a statement from the woman describing his actions as “one of the biggest betrayals of my young life.” Defense attorney Paul Engh told the judge that Griffith’s reputation had been damaged — that he had been “punished already.” He said that Griffith’s marriage was under stress and that his relationship with his two daughters — both about the same age as his accuser — now was strained. In his sentencing, Stephenson honored a plea deal calling for no jail time and for the potential dismissal of the case in a year. But he also criticized Griffith for a version of the events that the judge described as “ridiculous” and “possibly delusional.”
Update as of November 6, 2013 – Clark Griffith disciplined by Minnesota Supreme Court. You can read the Star Tribune story here.