Local Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Daniel Gaul has received a stayed sanction of a 6-month suspension from the practice of law. This discipline derives from his actions related to a 2007 criminal trial over which he was presiding. The Ohio Supreme Court's press release summarizes the court's decision as follows:
"In a 4-2 per curiam decision, the Court adopted findings by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline that Gaul improperly attempted to initiate an “Amber Alert” for two witnesses who had failed to appear for the defendant’s scheduled trial, and made improper public statements in court and during an in-chambers meeting with the news media in which he asserted his belief that the defendant had intimidated or interfered with the missing witnesses when there was no factual evidence in the record to support those assertions. The Court agreed with the disciplinary board’s conclusions that Gaul’s actions constituted conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, manifested bias against the defendant, and called into question his own impartiality and the fairness and impartiality of the judicial process."
Click here for a copy of the Supreme Court's opinion.
