Death Of Ohio Chief Justice Paves Way For Democratic Replacement Who Will Decide On The Affidavit Of Prejudice If Filed In The Sowell Murder Case
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold
By Kathy Wray Coleman, Editor of the Determiner Weekly.Com and
the Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
The death on Friday of Ohio Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer,70, who was not seeking reelection following a term ending this year because of the mandatory retirement age of 70, paves the way for Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland to appoint a Democrat to the now all Republican Supreme Court of Ohio to complete Moyer's unfinished term. It also would give that replacement judge the authority to decide whether an affidavit of prejudice, if filed against Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold as promised by Attorney Rufus Sims, who represents suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell in a capital murder case involving the murders of 11 Black women in Cleveland, Oh., should be either granted or denied. If granted Strickland Saffold would be removed from the Sowell case and replaced with another judge. To date Sims has only filed a motion asking the judge to voluntarily withdraw from the case.
The longest serving sitting state Supreme Court judge in the United States of those currently serving, Moyer was admitted to a Columbus hospital on Thursday with gastrointestinal problems, a court spokesperson said. He did not make it out alive. Though it is suspected that he had a heart attack the reason for his death has not yet been made public.
Ohio's Chief Justice since 1987, the scholarly Moyer seemed to have as many enemies as friends. Strickland, who by state law must appoint a replacement pending a subsequent election, issued a statement calling Moyer “dignified, respectful, thoughtful, and always concerned for the well-being of others." But behind the scenes an array of Democrats, outspoken lawyers and some judges often complained that Moyer was unfair and would target them for political and personal reasons.
Elsebeth Baumgartner, a disbarred attorney now serving an eight-year prison sentence for judicial intimidation following emails alleging improper activity to Richard Markus, a retired Ohio Common Pleas Court and appellate court judge assigned by Moyer to a case where she was being prosecuted criminally and the sitting municipal court judge voluntarily withdrew, challenged Moyer's system of assigning municipal court judges in Ohio as a method of alleged case fixing. Though considered brilliant, Baumgartner, allegedly under stress following alleged judicial harassment for taking on Moyer and then Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Presiding Judge Nancy McDonnell as to the assignment of Markus, is said to have made the fatal mistake of communicating directly with a judge rather than voicing her dissatisfaction in a public out-of-court venue on issues of public concern protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Pursuant to state law a municipal court judge found to be biased via the filing of an affidavit of prejudice is removed by the presiding judge of an Ohio Common Pleas Court from the case at issue and by law a sitting judge in that county accountable to the voters must be assigned. But if the municipal court judge at issue voluntarily removes him or herself from the case before an affidavit of prejudice can be filed Moyer got to independently choose a replacement judge and in many instances he was accused of assigning retired judges from other cities who were accused of coming to town, harassing the defendant in criminal prosecutions via illegal rulings, and then rushing back home without subsequent repercussions. When that practice was challenged in the courts Moyer allegedly got his Ohio Supreme Court colleagues to rule in his favor, lawyers said, via judicial decisions or case law that currently allows it.
Unlike municipal court cases when an affidavit of prejudice is filed against a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Ohio such as Strickland Saffold to seek his or her removal from a case the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme court has sole authority to assign a replacement judge for that particular case and via state law he or she can choose either a sitting judge from the county where the removed judge presides or a judge from any location around the state who would usually come to the location of the court of that removed judge. Whether the practice of assigning retired judges, as Moyer customarily did, is legal is still debatable and seemingly a violation of the Ohio Constitution where non-federal judges in Ohio must retire at the age of 70, or upon completion of a judicial term if 70 or older. Unlike Federal District Court judges the judges of Ohio's municipal, county, and county and state appellate courts are elected, except via appointments by the governor in cases of judicial vacancies such as death, mid-term retirement and election to a higher court, though any such appointed judge must subsequently run for election to retain the seat.
Though on Ohio's high court bench as Chief Justice for more than two decades, Moyer did not go unchallenged. He narrowly won a close race for his Chief Justice seat in 2004 against barely known Cleveland Municipal Court Judge C. Ellen Connally, the Democratic nominee, and of more notice, a Black woman, when Blacks can rarely win a statewide political office in Ohio, whether judicial or otherwise. Now retired as a judge, Connally, 65, is back in politics, seeking a council seat in District 9 relative to a voter- revised form of government in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, that consists of a County Executive and an 11-member County Council.
Some Democratic office holders, speaking on condition of anonymity, are pleased with the notion that the Democrats will now have a say on Ohio's high court, if the governor appoints a judge from his own party to replace Moyer, as some expect. In addition to issuing assignments on various grievance committees and spearheading other court related activities, the privilege of the Chief Justice in determining whether to grant or deny an affidavit of prejudice filed against a judge of an Ohio Common Pleas Court, where felony cases and civil lawsuits seeking damages in excess of $15 thousand are heard, makes the position even more powerful.
In the celebrated case of Sowell, who was arrested late last year after the remains of 11 Black women were found in and around his home on Imperial Ave in Cleveland's Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, community activists, judges, attorneys and the victims' families await a decision on Sims' motion for the judge to voluntarily recuse herself from the case, which was filed last week. Strickland Saffold has not ruled on the motion by Sims for her to to do so and does not have to since the sole vehicle for removing an Ohio Common Pleas Court judge from a case invountarily for alleged bias is via the filing of an affidavit of prejudice. Also, Sims has not griped about the judge since meeting in her chambers in an effort to reach an amicable accord, though coming days might give a clue as to whether the conflict has or has not been resolved.
Sims has accused Strickland Saffold of bias based on emails generated from the online news blogs of the Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, that were traced to her personal AOL account. On those blogs he is criticized as allegedly a mediocre attorney with an Amos 'n' Andy demeanor, and aspects of the Sowell capital murder case are allegedly discussed. Strickland Saffold was assigned to hear the Sowell case following the withdrawal of Cuyahoga Judge Timothy McGinty, who had been selected by random draw. She has denied that it was she who wrote the blog comments and her daughter Sydney Saffold, 23, has accepted blame.
A Sandusky native, Moyer resided in a Columbus suburb with his wife. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree from the Ohio State University. His legacy includes Ohio's school funding case where the Ohio Supreme Court declared the system of funding public schools partially through property taxes unconstitutional in 1997 saying it provides for more monies and other resources to school districts with lucrative tax bases. But in spite of that decision, Ohio's high court continues to permit the state legislature to ignore numerous court orders to devise an equitable funding formula where school districts like the predominantly Black Cleveland Metropolitan School District spend half the monies annually per student of some other Ohio school districts due to restraints from property taxes but are still measured by the same yard stick as property rich school districts on state mandated proficiency tests.
Strickland could likely appoint Franklin County Democratic Probate Judge Eric Brown to complete Moyer's unfinished term since he is currently running against Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor for the seat up for grabs due to Moyer's
mandatory retirement.
Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold
By Kathy Wray Coleman, Editor of the Determiner Weekly.Com and
the Kathy Wray Coleman Online News Blog and Media Network
The death on Friday of Ohio Republican Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer,70, who was not seeking reelection following a term ending this year because of the mandatory retirement age of 70, paves the way for Ohio Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland to appoint a Democrat to the now all Republican Supreme Court of Ohio to complete Moyer's unfinished term. It also would give that replacement judge the authority to decide whether an affidavit of prejudice, if filed against Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold as promised by Attorney Rufus Sims, who represents suspected serial killer Anthony Sowell in a capital murder case involving the murders of 11 Black women in Cleveland, Oh., should be either granted or denied. If granted Strickland Saffold would be removed from the Sowell case and replaced with another judge. To date Sims has only filed a motion asking the judge to voluntarily withdraw from the case.
The longest serving sitting state Supreme Court judge in the United States of those currently serving, Moyer was admitted to a Columbus hospital on Thursday with gastrointestinal problems, a court spokesperson said. He did not make it out alive. Though it is suspected that he had a heart attack the reason for his death has not yet been made public.
Ohio's Chief Justice since 1987, the scholarly Moyer seemed to have as many enemies as friends. Strickland, who by state law must appoint a replacement pending a subsequent election, issued a statement calling Moyer “dignified, respectful, thoughtful, and always concerned for the well-being of others." But behind the scenes an array of Democrats, outspoken lawyers and some judges often complained that Moyer was unfair and would target them for political and personal reasons.
Elsebeth Baumgartner, a disbarred attorney now serving an eight-year prison sentence for judicial intimidation following emails alleging improper activity to Richard Markus, a retired Ohio Common Pleas Court and appellate court judge assigned by Moyer to a case where she was being prosecuted criminally and the sitting municipal court judge voluntarily withdrew, challenged Moyer's system of assigning municipal court judges in Ohio as a method of alleged case fixing. Though considered brilliant, Baumgartner, allegedly under stress following alleged judicial harassment for taking on Moyer and then Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Presiding Judge Nancy McDonnell as to the assignment of Markus, is said to have made the fatal mistake of communicating directly with a judge rather than voicing her dissatisfaction in a public out-of-court venue on issues of public concern protected under the free speech clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Pursuant to state law a municipal court judge found to be biased via the filing of an affidavit of prejudice is removed by the presiding judge of an Ohio Common Pleas Court from the case at issue and by law a sitting judge in that county accountable to the voters must be assigned. But if the municipal court judge at issue voluntarily removes him or herself from the case before an affidavit of prejudice can be filed Moyer got to independently choose a replacement judge and in many instances he was accused of assigning retired judges from other cities who were accused of coming to town, harassing the defendant in criminal prosecutions via illegal rulings, and then rushing back home without subsequent repercussions. When that practice was challenged in the courts Moyer allegedly got his Ohio Supreme Court colleagues to rule in his favor, lawyers said, via judicial decisions or case law that currently allows it.
Unlike municipal court cases when an affidavit of prejudice is filed against a judge of the Court of Common Pleas of Ohio such as Strickland Saffold to seek his or her removal from a case the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme court has sole authority to assign a replacement judge for that particular case and via state law he or she can choose either a sitting judge from the county where the removed judge presides or a judge from any location around the state who would usually come to the location of the court of that removed judge. Whether the practice of assigning retired judges, as Moyer customarily did, is legal is still debatable and seemingly a violation of the Ohio Constitution where non-federal judges in Ohio must retire at the age of 70, or upon completion of a judicial term if 70 or older. Unlike Federal District Court judges the judges of Ohio's municipal, county, and county and state appellate courts are elected, except via appointments by the governor in cases of judicial vacancies such as death, mid-term retirement and election to a higher court, though any such appointed judge must subsequently run for election to retain the seat.
Though on Ohio's high court bench as Chief Justice for more than two decades, Moyer did not go unchallenged. He narrowly won a close race for his Chief Justice seat in 2004 against barely known Cleveland Municipal Court Judge C. Ellen Connally, the Democratic nominee, and of more notice, a Black woman, when Blacks can rarely win a statewide political office in Ohio, whether judicial or otherwise. Now retired as a judge, Connally, 65, is back in politics, seeking a council seat in District 9 relative to a voter- revised form of government in Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland, that consists of a County Executive and an 11-member County Council.
Some Democratic office holders, speaking on condition of anonymity, are pleased with the notion that the Democrats will now have a say on Ohio's high court, if the governor appoints a judge from his own party to replace Moyer, as some expect. In addition to issuing assignments on various grievance committees and spearheading other court related activities, the privilege of the Chief Justice in determining whether to grant or deny an affidavit of prejudice filed against a judge of an Ohio Common Pleas Court, where felony cases and civil lawsuits seeking damages in excess of $15 thousand are heard, makes the position even more powerful.
In the celebrated case of Sowell, who was arrested late last year after the remains of 11 Black women were found in and around his home on Imperial Ave in Cleveland's Mt. Pleasant neighborhood, community activists, judges, attorneys and the victims' families await a decision on Sims' motion for the judge to voluntarily recuse herself from the case, which was filed last week. Strickland Saffold has not ruled on the motion by Sims for her to to do so and does not have to since the sole vehicle for removing an Ohio Common Pleas Court judge from a case invountarily for alleged bias is via the filing of an affidavit of prejudice. Also, Sims has not griped about the judge since meeting in her chambers in an effort to reach an amicable accord, though coming days might give a clue as to whether the conflict has or has not been resolved.
Sims has accused Strickland Saffold of bias based on emails generated from the online news blogs of the Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, that were traced to her personal AOL account. On those blogs he is criticized as allegedly a mediocre attorney with an Amos 'n' Andy demeanor, and aspects of the Sowell capital murder case are allegedly discussed. Strickland Saffold was assigned to hear the Sowell case following the withdrawal of Cuyahoga Judge Timothy McGinty, who had been selected by random draw. She has denied that it was she who wrote the blog comments and her daughter Sydney Saffold, 23, has accepted blame.
A Sandusky native, Moyer resided in a Columbus suburb with his wife. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree from the Ohio State University. His legacy includes Ohio's school funding case where the Ohio Supreme Court declared the system of funding public schools partially through property taxes unconstitutional in 1997 saying it provides for more monies and other resources to school districts with lucrative tax bases. But in spite of that decision, Ohio's high court continues to permit the state legislature to ignore numerous court orders to devise an equitable funding formula where school districts like the predominantly Black Cleveland Metropolitan School District spend half the monies annually per student of some other Ohio school districts due to restraints from property taxes but are still measured by the same yard stick as property rich school districts on state mandated proficiency tests.
Strickland could likely appoint Franklin County Democratic Probate Judge Eric Brown to complete Moyer's unfinished term since he is currently running against Republican Ohio Supreme Court Justice Maureen O'Connor for the seat up for grabs due to Moyer's
mandatory retirement.
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