Columbus Dispatch – Aug. 24, 2001 – Chalk up one for the judicial watchdog

Jon Craig

Dispatch Statehouse Reporter

Chalk up one for the judicial watchdog

Yesterday, the executive director of the Ohio Rail Development Commission pleaded no contest to three ethics charges filed by David Palmer of Powell. James Seney was fined $100 and ordered to pay about $40 in court costs.

Palmer, executive director of the Committee to Expose Dishonest and Incompetent Judges and Attorneys, accused Seney of failing to report rental income from a GermanVillage apartment that he shared with Visiting Judge Stephen A. Yarbrough of Sylvania.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought my roommate's share of the rent is income," Seney said.

"It's been almost humorous. Some days you drink water. Some days you eat sand. Today's my day to eat sand."

Judge Bruce Jenkins of Franklin County Municipal Court fined Seney on one misdemeanor count and suspended fines on two other counts, First Assistant City Prosecutor Ted Barrows said. All three charges were failure to file a complete report, a fourth-degree misdemeanor.

Palmer said that as a self-appointed watchdog, he has "elevated himself from a toy poodle to disgruntled Dalmatian."