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Judge Judith Nicely of Akron violates retired judge compensation rules
Below is a letter sent to Steven Hollon, Administrative Director of the Ohio Supreme Court in regards to Judge Nicely’s failure to comply with rules governing the compensation of retired visiting judges in Ohio.
Steve Hollon
Office of the Administrative Director
Ohio Supreme Court
65 South Front Street, 7th Floor
Columbus, OH 43215-3431
David Palmer
The Watchdog
Folsom, CA 95630
December 3, 2012
Re: Retired Visiting Judge Judith Nicely
Dear Mr. Hollon:
I’m confident that you are aware that retired judges assigned by the Chief Justice are required to fill out a “Monthly Compensation Report for Assigned Judges (Retired) form in order to receive payment for judicial services performed.
As you know, said form contains a heading titled “Work Performed” and then offers eight (8) separate columns defining said work.
A recent review I conducted of Judge Nicely’s compensation reports from December 2005 through January 2010 proves that she claimed 202.0 hours and was paid $11,807.85. None of the forty-one (41) dates she claimed to have worked contain any entries under “Work Performed.” Despite this glaring omission, she was paid for each and every date contained on her compensation reports. (See Table 1 attached hereto)
Even more troublesome is Judge Nicely’s compensation report for July 2007 wherein she claimed 78.0 hours for $4,603.56. None of the 15 dates contain any entries as to the actual “work performed” by Judge Nicely. (See Table 1 attached hereto)
Obviously, the overtaxed citizens of Ohio have an absolute right to know exactly what work Judge Nicely actually claimed she performed on said dates. To suggest otherwise wouldn’t pass the involuntary laugh test.
I am somewhat dismayed that this type of mismanagement and/or malfeasance continues to occur in regards to the retired assigned judge program. As I’m sure you recall, it was only as a result of my efforts that the late Chief Justice Thomas Moyer required assigned judges to specifically define the nature of the work performed on each date.
I trust that your office will require that Judge Nicely provide the detail as to the work she claims to have performed in accordance with the entries contained in Tables 1 and 2 attached hereto.
And lastly, I also have other concerns about the efficacy of the manner in which the retired assigned judge system is being operated, which would unfortunately include instances where it appears that assigned judges are billing for hours they never worked. As time permits, I will address those issues in the near future.
Please provide me with a copy of any addendums filed with the Court by Judge Nicely in regards to the matters aforementioned.
Thanks for your time and attention to this matter and I look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
______________________________
Dave Palmer
Table 1
Table 2
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