| ► Cleveland Plain Dealer – 04/25/00 2 file complaints over chief justice’s political speech |
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Cleveland Plain Dealer – 04/25/00 2 file complaints over chief justice’s political speech By T.C. Brown – Plain Dealer Reporter
COLUMBUS — The chairman of the Huron County Democratic Party and a self-appointed judicial watchdog filed separate disciplinary complaints against Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas J. Moyer yesterday.
The complaints ask for an investigation of Moyer’s apparent endorsement of a fellow Republican, Judge Terrence O’Donnell, for an Ohio Supreme Court seat.
O’Donnell, a Clevelander who serves on the 8th District Court of Appeals, is running against Justice Alice Robie Resnick, a Toledo Democrat seeking her third six-year term.
The complaints accuse Moyer of violating several canons guiding judicial conduct, including a ruling prohibiting public endorsements of other candidates, making statements that appear to commit a judge to a position on cases or controversies, and misrepresenting the facts about an opponent.
Patrick R. Saunders, the Huron County Democratic Chairman, and David Palmer, of Maumee, filed the grievances with the Supreme Court’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigates complaints involving lawyers and judges.
The Plain Dealer reported Saturday that Moyer had supported O’Donnell’s candidacy at an April 14 meeting of the Ohio Republican central and executive committees.
Moyer said yesterday that he apologized to Resnick Saturday in a telephone call, adding that he did not expect to be disciplined for his remarks.
Moyer has said he was not aware the meeting was public.
Asked about Moyer’s apology, Resnick said, “I guess he apologized at the end of our conversation.”
Resnick said she has decided not to file her own grievance. Ohio Democratic Party Chairman David J. Leland also said he would forgo action because of the other complaints.
In addition to his complaint about Moyer, Saunders also asked for an investigation of O’Donnell’s speech at a local Republican function April 10. O’Donnell said he wanted to end numerous Supreme Court decisions in which Resnick and three other justices have made majority rulings, according to published reports.
“Everything I’ve done I’ve tried to follow the precepts of the canons,” O’Donnell said yesterday. “I don’t want to be critical of the court or my opponent.”
Resnick has teamed with two other Republican justices and another Democrat to form the majority on the Ohio school-funding case and legislative reforms aimed at curbing the money Ohioans can win in liability lawsuits.
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