Cleveland Law Library Weblog

109 Ohio Municipal Judge Seats Up in November

Of the 109 municipal judge seats up for election in November, 39 are contested, including 5 in Cuyahoga County. The Ohio Supreme Court reminds us that municipal court judges are elected for 6 years in odd-numbered years, while all other Ohio judges are elected in even-numbered years. The Ohio Supreme Court's press release contains a link to a list of all 109 seats and the associated candidates. Each County Board of Elections would also maintain this information.

Ohio Judicial Conference Maintains a Library of Reasoned Orders

I just learned that the Ohio Judicial Conference (hereinafter "OJC") maintains a Library of Reasoned Orders. The OJC's second quarter 2011 issue of for the Record describes this Library as follows:

"This library collects reasoned orders issued by Ohio judges and makes them available to other Ohio judges as a helpful resource. A reasoned order is one made by a judge that may prove helpful to other judges. Reasoned orders submitted to the web-based library may address new or unique issues as well as routine issues that may come before a judge. A reasoned order must provide sufficient analysis of the issue in order to be beneficial to another judge confronted with the same or a similar issue."

 

 

The orders entered into this library are indexed by category to help judges find them. However, the OJC provides several disclaimers on use of the orders because they have not been reviewed, edited or updated for changes in the law. Nevertheless, this tool provides a great resource for judges. It appears that the resource itself is only available to OJC members by logging in at the OJC homepage.

Pamela A. Barker Appointed to Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Bench

The Governor has appointed Brecksville attorney Pamela A. Barker to replace former Judge Stephen Terry on the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas bench. Barker will take office on September 19, 2011, but she will have to run in the November 2012 election. The Ohio Supreme Court's press release contains information about Barker's legal background.

Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown Has Created a Twitter Account

At the urging of her 24-year old daughter, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown has created a Twitter account. Her initial tweet celebrated the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Justice Brown is the first Ohio Supreme Court Justice to open a Twitter account. According to the Columbus Dispatch, Justice Brown "hopes to communicate with younger generations and get her followers to think about what’s going on in the community and at the Supreme Court." Click here to read the entire article from the Columbus Dispatch.

Cuyahoga County CP Judge Michael P. Donnelly Identified as a "Justice System Leader"

Local Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael P. Donnelly has been identified as a "justice system leader" and nominated by the Ohio Supreme Court to participate in a 2-year long, national leadership and mangement initiative of the National Judicial College. The Supreme Court's press release quotes Judge Donnelly as saying:  “I look forward to developing new skills designed to improve our Justice System.”

Ohio Supreme Court Creates New Page for Current and Historical Justice Biographies

The Ohio Supreme Court has just launched a new web page devoted to biographies of all of its current and historical justices. The new page is a joint project of the Court and the Ohio Historical Society. The available data includes a short bio of each justice, their full name, term, county of residence, and law school information if known. Not only can you sort the data by several of these criteria, but the Court's website also provides a general search engine where you can search by name. Click here to read the Supreme Court's press release about the new web page.

Ohio Governer Appoints Robert McClelland to Cuyahoga County CP Bench

Ohio Governor Kasich has appointed Cleveland Heights, Ohio attorney Robert C. McClelland to the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas bench beginning on March 28, 2011. McClelland will have to run for election in November of 2012 in order to complete the unexpired term that ends January 5, 2015. McClelland is a Cleveland-Marshall law school graduate. Click here to read the Governor's press release.

Ohio Jurors Who Visited Crime Scene Fined for Costs of Mistrial

According to the Mansfield News Journal, two (2) jurors who visited a crime scene over lunch, in violation of the judge's orders, have been fined for the costs of a mistrial in the case of a defendant accused of murder. According to the article, the jurors could have been sentenced to 30 days in jail, but Judge DeWeese only imposed monetary sanctions and made the jurors write apologies to the defendant, the families of the victim, and the other jurors. Who tipped off the judge?----another juror.

Alleged Bomber May Have Targeted Licking County Court

Judges beware. According to the Columbus Dispatch, a man who was supposedly so behind on his child support that a warrant had been issued for his arrest had a bomb in the back of his car that was allegedly for the Licking County Court. Thankfully, his car crashed into a church near where he had been staying, and the officers intervened.

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Gaul Receives Stayed 6-Month Suspension from the Practice of Law

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.