| ► Columbus Alive – 05/22/01 – Complaints accuse judge of theft in office |
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Columbus Alive – May 22, 2001 – Complaints accuse judge of theft in office
InnerArt.bits-Bizarre Occurrences
Assorted Madness
May 22, 2001
By HARRY FARKAS
Hats-Off
Closer to home the spotlight is on David Palmer who has nearly single-handedly taken on the judicial system in the State of Ohio. Described by some as a crusader against official corruption and by others as something more akin to an obsessive nutcase, Palmer convinced prosecutors to bring 57 felony charges of theft-in-office against visiting judges.
Palmer claims the visiting judges, assigned to cases by the Chief Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court when a local judge is not available, were double billing counties for work done on the same days and were over-billing for the expenses. The outraged judges, all retirees defended by former Supreme J. Craig Wright, claimed they were the victims of poor bookkeeping. One judge had earlier indicated a disdain for dealing with details in an article no longer available in the Dispatch archive.
When the charges came to court, all were dismissed. However a separate Supreme Court check of their records showed excess payments of $8,973 to ten judges including some of the defendants, $7,060 of which has been repaid. Palmer pegs the over-billings at closer to $50,000 in 32 counties and is reported to be looking into 5,000 cases. The prosecutor's office has signaled further cooperation with Palmer.
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