Tardy Judge Reprimanded

The Ohio Supreme Court reprimanded a judge of the Sandusky County Court of Common Pleas for "allowing six civil cases to languish in his court for an inordinate amount of time." The neglected matters involved family law and tort cases. The court also took judicial notice of case-management statistics for a nine-year period. The stats were particularly damning in contested divorces: "By  failing to efficiently  resolve the cases before him, respondent left the parties referred to...and many others in legal limbo, often for a period of years." The court characterized its decision to sanction solely for foot-dragging was one of first impression" and considered the impending end of the judge's term in office and his hiring of a law clerk in imposing reprimand. A dissent would remand for a hearing rather than on a consent to discipline basis. (Mike Frisch)