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Columbus Dispatch
Nine judges face theft complaints
$50,000 was overbilled, watchdog says
Friday, May 11, 2001
Jon Craig
Dispatch Statehouse Reporter A judicial watchdog from Powell drew the ire of one retired judge but praise from another as 57 theft charges were lodged yesterday against nine visiting judges.
"Oh, God,'' said Judge Robert G. Wilson of Bryan, who then cursed David Palmer. "It's going to take someone from the court system to put a muzzle on this guy.''
Two Franklin County Municipal Court judges said they found "probable cause'' to hear criminal complaints filed by Palmer against traveling judges appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court.
Palmer claims the part-time judges overbilled 32 counties for at least $50,000 in daily stipends, meals and lodging. Court dates have been set for May 24 and May 30 to hear more from Palmer and the accused.
After The Dispatch showed Palmer's complaint to Judge Harry A. Hanna of Cuyahoga County yesterday, the judge put a check for $402 in the mail to the Ohio Supreme Court, he said. The money paid for a day in February 2000 Hanna did not actually work.
"He's right on one of them. I wasn't careful enough,'' Hanna said. "I don't know what his (Palmer's) motivation is, but he saved the taxpayers $402. He must be very thorough. I'm glad he's doing it.''
It was readily apparent yesterday, however, that Palmer -- who is papering courts throughout Ohio with complaints -- faces a David versus Goliath battle.
"What are you trying to accomplish?'' a testy Franklin County Municipal Judge Bruce Jenkins said before asking Palmer for a synopsis of his case. "You don't have to read it to me.''
Afterward, Jenkins said he'd never encountered this type of complaint against judges: "I thought it was rather strange . . . I find that kind of hard to believe.''
Jenkins defended the system of assigning retired judges to assist Common Pleas courts saying, "In these larger counties, they need some help. The visiting judges are a necessity.''
Officials from Auditor Jim Petro's office and the Ohio Supreme Court said that while being paid by two courts on one day for two days of work is not illegal, Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer had asked that the habit be discontinued in 1998.
"We're going to have to sit down with the court and have a serious conversation with them,'' said D. Michael Grodhaus, Petro's chief legal counsel.
Douglas R. Stephens, director of judicial and court services at the Supreme Court, said new recordkeeping controls are in place to reduce the chances of double-billing.
"We do 2,500 of these visiting judge assignments a year, although even one (mistake) is not acceptable,'' Stephens said. "For Palmer to say this is widespread abuse, this is not true. It's a bad situation we're working to correct.''
Two judges, Stephen Yarbrough of Sylvania and Judith A. Cross of Medina, also repaid the state for some of the bills Palmer flagged as improper. Cross said she mailed the court a check for $402 when the error was brought to her attention on Wednesday.
"I'm not a good detail person,'' Cross conceded yesterday.
Palmer said he intends to file criminal complaints against additional judges, including three appellate judges.
A separate misdemeanor charge filed by Palmer against an Ohio Rail Development Commission official who received rental income from Yarbrough was dismissed yesterday because the complaint was not dated properly.
Yarbrough's attorney, Michael L. Close, said Palmer misread the paperwork and that the judge never double-billed for lodging at a German Village apartment. Close, a former Common Pleas and appellate judge, said, "I don't know if there's anything, that there's been anything improper.''
Palmer claims Yarbrough overbilled taxpayers for more than $7,000 in five counties including at least $4,200 in Franklin County.
When they retire, judges either offer or are recruited by Moyer to help counties short of judges. Counties receive a list of available judges and call as needed.
Moyer also may appoint a judge to handle a particularly complicated case, or a sticky case in which all local judges recuse themselves.
Palmer said he has no vendettas.
"I'm an equal opportunity exposer,'' he said.
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