“You May Step Back”
The Ohio Supreme Court web page links to this story in the Sandusky Register reported by Brandon Addeo
Sandusky attorney K. Ronald Bailey turned himself over to deputies Monday to begin serving a 30-day jail sentence.
Bailey, of the Bailey Legal Group on Market Street, recently had an appellate judge rule against him after he was sentenced for contempt of court. The charge was the result of his actions during a November 2016 trial for Richard Mick, a Sandusky pastor accused of sexually abusing children.
“You may step back,” Binette said to Bailey, according to previous Register reporting.
“I know I may but I won’t,” Bailey responded.
Bailey soon after said he was “not participating” in the trial, and Binette later held a hearing during which he held Bailey in contempt of court for his actions.
Bailey’s appeal argued that the word “may” was permissive, and not a direct command.
The appeal also protested several aspects of trial proceedings, including the court’s rejection of a motion which the defense said would have allowed them to appoint an expert witness after the expert they previously appointed died.
Bailey will have to stay in jail through Jan. 9, and also have to pay a $250 fine plus court costs.
His son, Ken, also an attorney at the Bailey Legal Group, lamented the situation.
“It saddens my heart to see two brothers in the Lord sow discord between one another,” Ken Bailey said, referring to his father and Binette.
Binette said conduct like Bailey’s from an attorney sets a bad precedent. If an attorney does not participate, “trials wouldn’t happen,” he said. “If a court makes a decision and the attorney doesn’t like it, what they’re supposed to do is proceed on.”
Update on the story here.
It appears Sandusky attorney K. Ronald Bailey will have to complete his jail sentence.
On Wednesday, the state’s Supreme Court denied Bailey’s motion to have his 30-day jail sentence stayed, according to a Supreme Court ruling. Bailey’s attorney, Ken, who is his son, filed the motion on Monday alongside a notice of appeal to the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor and justices Terrence O’Donnell, Judith L. French and R. Patrick DeWine agreed to deny the motion. Justices Patrick F. Fischer and Sharon L. Kennedy dissented, and Justice William M. O’Neill did not participate.
Bailey has been locked up in the Erie County jail since Monday, according to jail records. His sentence is slated to go through Jan. 9, and he must also pay a $250 fine.
(Mike Frisch)