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Showing posts from September, 2009

A Message From Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman

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Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough was allegedly in rare form at the sentencing of September 25, 2009, according to my attorney, Wayne Kerek, who appeared in my absence. I was advised not to attend for safety reasons and for other reasons explained more fully hereinafter. She, of course, could not sentence me on the unjust verdict of the misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest that followed a two day trial where I was acquitted by a jury of all charges of which I was arrested (aggravated disorderly conduct, obstruction of official business and making false alarms). This is because the Ohio Rules of Criminal Procedure preclude sentencing in the absence of a defendant, of which Keough was reminded of. Many know that last year I was dragged to the county jail over my articles in the Call & Post Newspaper and investigations, administered a knockout drug, held naked, supervised by a disgruntled male employee, and released four days later without charges. The harassment v

Black Journalist Sues Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough In The Ohio Supreme Court

Posted Saturday, September 26, 2009 (Cleveland , Ohio Area News) Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough was sued on Thursday in the Ohio Supreme Court by a Black journalist who has asked the court to stop the judge's alleged harassment of her. Kathy Wray Coleman, a journalist of 15 years out of the Cleveland, Oh. area, claims in the suit that Keough is targeting her to get at “higher ups at the Call and Post,” a weekly newspaper that targets Cleveland's Black community and one that has published articles by Coleman as a freelance journalist since 1993. Such articles include allegations of housing discrimination against Blacks in Shaker Heights, Oh., a one-on-one interview with now U.S. President Barack Obama, and claims that county reform measures that strip voters of the right to directly elect county officials would disenfranchise the Black community. The reform measure at issue, which Coleman has not written about specifically, is now on the November ballot and

Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy McDonnell Undergoes Double Lung Transplant Surgery At The Cleveland Clinic (What is the life span of a lung transplant recipient? Why are Blacks less likely to get one?)

Posted Tuesday, September 22, 2009 By Kathy Wray Coleman (Cleveland, Ohio Area News) Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Presiding Judge Nancy McDonnell is recovering from double lung transplant surgery that was undertaken on Sunday at the Cleveland Clinic Hospital in Cleveland Oh. A judge of 11 years, she began presiding over the Common Pleas Court General Division in 2006 when a majority of her colleagues dumped Richard McMonagle, a Republican, and chose the 49-year-old McDonnell, a Democrat with ties to the Democratic Party. She also serves as the administrative judge in that court, which has only three Black judges in spite of a Black population in Cuyahoga County that is roughly 30 percent. The county is the largest in Ohio and includes Cleveland and its outer suburbs. As the administrative and presiding judge of the court's general (criminal and civil) division, McDonnell handles a reduced case load for her own docket, a wide range of bureaucratic and procedural matters for the

Black Journalist Vows To Appeal Dismissal Of Lawsuit Filed Againt Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough To The Ohio Supreme Court

Posted Tuesday, September 15, 2009 (National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News) A Black journalist from the Cleveland, Oh. area says she shall appeal what she calls an illegal and retaliatory dismissal on Sept. 9th of a non-monetary lawsuit filed in the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals against Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough. The suit, filed on behalf of seasoned journalist Kathy Wray Coleman, also an outspoken community activist, seeks an order from the appellate court of Cuyahoga County to order Keough to vacate orders she issued in a case before her that involves Coleman that impacted Coleman's constitutional and statutory rights, allegedly in violation of Ohio state law. Cuyahoga County is the largest county in Ohio and is roughly 30 percent Black. Of such orders issued by Keough one includes an order scheduling a hearing on a motion for a new trial and a second order has the judge overriding that prior order. A motion for a new trial affects Cole

COMMENTARY:"My Love For Harvard Law Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr."..... By Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman

Posted Sunday, September 13, 2009 I fell in love with Harvard Law Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Thursday evening, where we met for the first time and only for the minutes that I had the privilege of tagging close behind the cane wielding Gates as I gave my spill seeking to write for “The Root,” an online magazine that he edits that provides national and other news from a Black perspective. That love is, of course, limited to my admiration of him for his skill in winning friends and influencing enemies. I had closely followed the summer controversy around Professor Gates that aroused a national discussion on race relations and racial profiling after Cambridge MA. police arrested him at his university furnished home. This was even after he allegedly proved to police that he lived there and that the alleged complaint of a minority burglar on the Gates' premises lacked merit. Gates was essentially accused of making police mad by allegedly saying “do you know who I am,?” apparently

Harvard Law Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. Talks About His Prior Arrest During Annual Book Awards Ceremony In Cleveland

By Kathy Wray Coleman Posted Friday, September 11, 2009 (National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News) (Coleman is a journalist of 15 years who covered the 2008 Democratic Primary and general elections for the Call & Post Newspaper, Ohio's Black Press with distributions in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. This includes a one-on-one interview with now U.S. President Barack Obama shortly before Ohio's March 4, 2008 Democratic Primary, as well as an interview with the president on his controversial health care plan) Harvard Law Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. on Thursday moderated the 74th Annual Anisfield -Wolf Book Awards Ceremony at the Cleveland Playhouse to a packed house. The event was sponsored by the Cleveland Foundation, as it has been since 1963, and drew participation from some area movers and shakers including Plain Dealer Newspaper Publisher Terry Egger, Cleveland Ward 6 Councilwoman Mamie Mitchell, and Cleveland Foundation President and CEO Ronald B. Richard.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson Will Take On Patmon, Marking Second Time In History That Two Blacks Compete For Mayor In General Election

Posted Wednesday, September 9, 2009 By Kathy Wray Coleman (National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News- Coleman is a freelance journalist who last year interviewed now U.S. President Barack Obama one-on-one for the Call & Post newspaper, Ohio's Black press, shortly before Ohio's March 4 Primary for the Democratic nomination for president of the United States of America) Frank G. Jackson, the 56th mayor of the predominantly Black major metropolitan city of Cleveland, Oh., silenced his critics Tuesday evening, winning the nonpartisan primary election with 72 percent of the vote in a stunning blowout. Embarrassing his four opponents, and surprising some of his critics, Jackson out distanced his closest challenger, former city councilman Bill Patmon, by a 5 to 1 margin. Two additional opponents of the mayor, both write-ins, went essentially unnoticed by voters, as did the four noticeable ones, apparently. Cleveland voters easily handed the former Cleveland City Council President and

No Upsets In Cleveland City Council Races

By Kathy Wray Coleman (Cleveland, Ohio Area News) Posted Wednesday, September 9, 2009 The Sept. 8 non-partisan primary race for the 19 Cleveland City Council seats up for grabs brought no surprising outcomes, though the neck and neck race between Ward 5 Councilwoman Phyllis Cleveland and Pernel Jones Jr., an owner an operator of Pernel Jones Funeral Home in Cleveland, is being closely watched. Cleveland, council's majority leader, finished with 674 votes, and Jones with 575. Like the others council races, Cleveland and Jones, as the two top vote getters, will square off for the Nov. 3 general election, though as Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's hand picked successor to Ward 5 few would rule out Jackson's active role in campaigning for Cleveland in the general election. He sailed to victory with 72 percent of the vote and will face former Cleveland Ward 8 Councilman Bill Patmon, hoping to retain his job as mayor of the predominantly Black major metropolitan city. War

Obama Heath Care Interview With Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman

By Kathy Wray Coleman (National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News) Posted September 6, 2009 (Originally published in the Call & Post Newspaper, Ohio's Black Press with distributions in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Oh, where Coleman served in the capacity of a freelance journalist. It is being reprinted below for a closer look since the issues that the president promoted when campaigning in Cleveland last year during the Democratic Primary are now a part of the president's controversial push for universal health care for all Americans) Illinois Sen. Barack Obama spoke with the Call & Post last Thursday about his health care plan and its impact on the American community, the Black community in particular. Obama said that he would finance the comprehensive plan by rolling back Bush tax cuts on families making $250,000 or more annually and keeping the estate tax at its 2009 level. The first Black presidential nominee of a major American political party has made

Deuteronomy Bookstore And Cafe Holds Obama Health Care Rally And Vigil For Kennedy

By Kathy Wray Coleman (Cleveland, Ohio Area News) Posted September 6, 2009 The Deuteronomy Bookstore and Cafe in Cleveland, which is owned and operated by Mitti Imani Jordon, sponsored a rally and vigil on Wednesday at its headquarters at Wadepark and 105th streets to push President Obama's health care plan and to pay tribute to the late U.S. Sen. Edward "Ted" Kennedy Jr., who died Aug 25 after a battle with brain cancer. A Massachusetts senator for 42 years and the third longest serving, Kennedy was the patriarch of the famous Kennedy clan. Younger brother to former president John F. Kennedy and Sen. Robert Kennedy, both assassinated, uncle to news anchor Maria Shriver Schwarzenegger, and father to U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, the elder Kennedy was a Democratic liberal who fought for equal opportunity on and off the senate floor, especially those issues that impacted poor people, minorities, and the elderly. When he arrived in Cleveland, Oh. in February 2008 to stomp for P

Journalist Sues County Sheriff, Jail Warden After Being Jailed, Held Naked, And Released Without Charges

Posted September 6, 2009 (National and Cleveland,Ohio Area News) A Black freelance journalist from the Cleveland, Oh. area has sued a former county Sheriff, a jail warden, and a host of others after she was allegedly jailed last year over her writings in the Black press, held naked, given a knockout drug, supervised by a disgruntled male employee, and released four days later without charges. Freelance journalist Kathy Wray Coleman, who covered the Democratic primary and general elections last year for the Call & Post Newspaper, a weekly distributed in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati, Oh. that targets the African-American community, filed the 49 page lawsuit Aug. 11 in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas. In the suit Coleman's attorney, Wayne Kerek, names 28 defendants including former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul, who retired earlier this year amid an ensuing criminal investigation, the Cuyahoga County Board of Commissioners, Jail Warden Kevin McDonoug

Black Journalalist Sues Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough

Posted September 5, 2009 (Cleveland,Ohio Area News) Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Ann Keough was sued on July 16 in the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals, where journalist Kathy Wray Coleman has asked the court to issue a decision that orders the judge to vacate orders she issued while under investigation for alleged bias in a case before her involving Coleman. The non-monetary lawsuit, filed by Coleman's attorney, Wayne Kerek, says in part that Keough issued the orders to allegedly harass Coleman, an outspoken Black journalist in the Cleveland, Oh. area. Ohio state law prevents a judge from issuing rulings impacting the substantial rights of a party, including defendants in criminal cases, when a judge is under investigation for potential bias. If the appellate court rules against her Coleman says that she shall appeal the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court which, by law, must hear the case because it originated in the appellate court. Generally, the high court of O

White Civil Rights Attorney Who Filed Discrimination Lawsuits For Blacks Is Suspended For Calling Prosecutor, Judges Racist

By Kathy Wray Coleman (Cleveland, Ohio Area News) Posted September 5, 2009 A Civil Rights attorney from Cleveland Heights, Oh. who represented Blacks in race discrimination lawsuits filed against Cuyahoga County and county officials recently had her law license suspended indefinitely by the Ohio Supreme Court for leveling charges of racism against Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason, Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judges William Coyne and Timothy McCormick, and a federal district court judge. “The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor had information that government employees were engaging in race discrimination and illegal conduct, including crimes of forgery, fraud, and falsification of public documents, yet failed to investigate,” attorney Merrie Maurine Frost claimed in the affidavits of prejudice previously filed against McCormick and Coyne,” according to excerpts from the Ohio Supreme Court suspension decision issued June 24. Mason said through a spokesperson that he had no comment. The

Obama Wins Presidency

Posted August 23, 2009 (Originally published on November 6, 2008 in the Call & Post Newspaper, Ohio's Black Press, with distributions in Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati) After wining Ohio by 5 percentage points Illinois Sen. Barack Obama became the first Black president of the United States of America Tue. night following a euphoric election that represents the height of Black intellect and achievement in American history. The first Black presidential nominee of a major American political party, whose oratory brilliance and message of hope and change reinvigorated Americans nationwide, swiftly won the Electoral College to take the presidency over Republican nominee Arizona Sen. John McCain. He also won the national popular vote, making his election a slam dunk. At press time Obama had 364 electoral votes to McCain's 164. Obama's election night victory came on the eve of the death of his maternal grandmother, who reared him along with his late mother and materna

Cleveland Voting Locations To Be Monitored By The U.S. Department Of Justice

By Kathy Wray Coleman Posted September 6, 2009 (National and Cleveland, Ohio Area News) The Feds will monitor voting locations in Cleveland for the second time since 2006. A hub for political candidates, Cleveland's Sept. 8 primary has some colorful candidates, including six seeking to oust Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, and an array of incumbents and political wannabes hoping to nab or hold onto one of 19 Cleveland City Council seats up for grabs. The U.S. Department of Justice has reportedly not said why it is targeting Cleveland, though speculation is that it wants to keep a watch on the controversial Cleveland City Council race for Ward 14, a West Side venue that has majority Hispanic voters, a prior councilman in the race, and two sitting councilmen fighting for the seat because of a recent city redistricting plan adopted by voters that reduced council from 21 to 19 seats. "The Feds are in here because it is common knowledge that Cleveland and Cuyahoga County ar