A Message From Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman

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 violates my right to free speech on issues of public concern as embodied in the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America.

The aforementioned misdemeanor charges were brought two months later by Cleveland Law Director Robert Triozzi on behalf of the predominantly Black City of Cleveland as to the arrest itself and are retaliatory to attempt to protect public officials as to the illegal jailing in the county last year. During this year's trial in Cleveland Judge Keough limited it to two days, allowed a juror to ask unwritten questions for the prosecution during trial, met secretly with my trial lawyer during trial (Carole A. Lohr), of whom she later dismissed for impropriety, and illegally directed the jury to convict on hearsay testimony given because the sole arresting sheriff deputy would not testify and commit perjury. This is commensurate to sending a Black man to prison for alleged rape without either a rape victim or an accuser of record. In my case it is racism at its best, not to mention sexism and the arbitrary and capricious abuse of power.

Thereafter, Keough's employees harassed me by telephone at my home. Kerek said that at the sentencing on September 25, 2009 she would barely let him get a word in and rambled on asking if I had anything to do with writing parts of the now three lawsuits filed involving her that seek orders that she comply with the law, two filed in the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals and a third that is now pending before the Ohio Supreme Court. Specifically, Kerek said she took issue with the word Black allegedly saying that he [a White man] did not have the passion to write in the lawsuits that she is harassing me because I am a Black journalist and community activist that writes articles for the Black press.

Keough has ignored Kerek's request for a hearing to seek dismissal of the verdict knowing it is both unfair and illegal where she is seemingly hellbent on destroying a Black journalist by any means necessary. Further, said Kerek, she said she would continue to harass me and have me arrested unless the Ohio Supreme Court directs her to stop breaking the law. This is the problem where she seemingly anticipates that because she is a White judge the Ohio Supreme Court and the Ohio Eighth District Court of Appeals will sanction her alleged illegalities against Blacks and others. That is because it has usually happened, at least until recently where Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul is up on disciplinary charges before the Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel for allegedly harassing a Black male defendant without a due process assessment of the claims against the man in a case that was before him.

A pre-sentence officer also was at my sentencing allegedly saying that I am a highly educated and highly functional journalist who should get probation for not resisting the arrest where even the sole arresting sheriff deputy for former Cuyahoga County Sheriff Gerald McFaul, of whom we are now suing along with others as to last year's jail harassment episode, did not submit a report, testify or attend trial. Jurors allegedly said after trial that they were directed to render the unjust verdict. According to the criminal trial transcript, Judge Keough fed the jury illegal jury instructions directing them to use hearsay on behalf of the non-testifying sheriff deputy and other inadmissible testimony in deliberations that brought the resisting arrest verdict.

What a nice thing to do for the pre-sentence officer at sentencing to advise that an innocent Black woman who has been maliciously prosecuted and possibly raped in the county jail is so great and highly educated that she should get probation for an alleged crime of resisting arrest that she did not do, allegedly per the directive of a runaway judge like Judge Keough of whom we believe has no respect for the law or for Black journalists like me. The right for one to confront his or her accuser in a criminal proceeding including the White male sole arresting officer (Sheriff Deputy Gerald Pace) as to a resisting arrest charge is constitutionally required via the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Keough knows this and so do Black leaders and certain media that seek to quiet this issue.

Kerek said also that Keough allegedly threatened him as well as me saying that "you and Ms. Coleman shall be held accountable for what has been written about me."

So be it, and may the truth be told. I do not intend to appear before Judge Keough willingly where I have been advised not to, I am in fear of her, and the Ohio Lawyer's Professional Code of Responsibility, the Ohio Judicial Code of Conduct and R.C. 2701.031 require her recusal for issuing orders impacting my constitutional and statutory rights while under investigation for alleged bias pursuant to the filing of an affidavit of prejudice per R.C. 2701.031. (This is explained in case law from the Ohio Supreme Court where a judge was suspended for refusing to recuse herself after issuing substantive orders while under investigation for alleged bias pursuant to the filing of an affidavit of prejudice. See Disciplinary Counsel v. Squire, 116 Ohio St.3d 110, 2007-Ohio-5588). Case law also mandates her recusal due to a conflict where Triozzi signed the criminal charges against me and now represents Keough relative to the three lawsuits pending against her on my behalf.

We would also request that Judge Keough be removed from over the Cleveland Municipal Court Psychiatric Clinic that she volunteered to lead apparently in order to harass people. She actually calls it "my clinic," a statement that we view as indicative of arrogance. We have data that show that she is allegedly violating the law and illegally diagnosing Blacks without a mental health professional license, allegedly to get undue money for the clinic and to target people for others and for herself that stand up for equal opportunity and equal justice. The last time this type of experimentation occurred was decades ago when Black men were used as experiments where they were inserted with the venereal disease of syphilis. Her experimentation to the detriment of the Black community is unconstitutional.

Moreover, mentally challenged people do not shed their constitutional and statutory rights at the courthouse gate, and to make a mockery of the process by relegating people to her own personal psychiatric clinic who do not belong and experimenting relative to mental health issues is unconscionable. We respectfully request Judge Keough's voluntary resignation from the bench, and as soon as possible.

Black Journalist Kathy Wray Coleman