Suspension Proposed For Former Judge
A former jurist should be suspended for two years without cred it for time served on an interim suspension, according to a recent report and recommendation of the Ohio Board on Professional Conduct.
The then-judge was convicted of two felonies, leaving the scene of an accident and complicity for tampering with evidence.
The Board found that Respondent and his spouse attended a social event in June 2020 where both consumed alcohol. The spouse was driving when a collision took place as she made a left turn but failed to yield to an oncoming vehicle.
The other driver was seriously injured.
Respondent and his spouse left the scene and did not notify authorities until nine hours later.
The Marion Star reported
The Warners left the scene of a two-vehicle crash just after midnight on June 4, 2020, at the junction of Ohio 203 and Somerlot-Hoffman Road in Green Camp Township. The driver of the other vehicle, Colton Gray of Marion, suffered a head injury and was left trapped in his vehicle on the side of roadway. Gray had to be mechanically extracted from his vehicle, which struck a utility pole after being forced off the roadway by the Warners’ vehicle.
The Warners were each found guilty of complicity to tampering with evidence, a fourth-degree felony, and complicity to leaving the scene of an accident, a third-degree felony, by Judge Cosgrove during a hearing held March 10, 2021, in Marion County Common Pleas Court. Cosgrove then sentenced each of the Warners to two years in prison during a hearing conducted April 14, 2021.
The Third District Court of Appeals upheld the Warners’ convictions in the case in a ruling that was issued in early December 2021. Following that setback, the Warners then filed appeals with the Ohio Supreme Court just a few days after the appeals court ruling was issued.
Crawford County Now noted “massive support” for the restoration of his law license
Warner testified on his behalf, as well as his wife and three others. Marion Municipal Court Judge Teresa Ballinger, Marion Family Court Judge Larry Heiser, Marion County Commissioner Kerr Murray, Marion County Common Pleas Court Judge Matthew Frericks, and retired Judge Richard Rogers all wrote letters of support for Warner.
No one representing the victim, Colton Gray, was notified of the hearing.
Judge Ballinger shared her long personal history with Warner in her letter to the board. She told the board she’d known Warner since he was a senior in high school when she was his psychology teacher and also his tennis coach. She also said she had known him on a professional basis in the court.
Noting that Warner had no prior record and no disciplinary action, Judge Ballinger made a statement that any convicted felon might appreciate: “ Does our criminal justice system or our ethics code call for the destruction of and revenge on the offender or does it call for rehabilitation and restoration?“
Ballinger went on to say: “ In consideration of a high standards to which judges are held, I fully understand how Mr. Warner‘s behavior resulted in the loss of his judgeship. But if reinstated as an attorney, I believe that he could be an asset to the legal community.”
Sitting Marion County Common Pleas Court Judge W.T. Edwards, called to testify by the Disciplinary Board, doesn’t see it that way:
“I cannot overexpress the impact this has had my court. The public faith in our court system here (Marion) is at an all-time low, where they feel like special treatment was given throughout the process, and your decisions here today will greatly impact that.
If this man is allowed to practice in this jurisdiction again, it will be seen as special treatment and will undermine the administration of justice and our community.“ Judge Edwards said.
(Mike Frisch)