Release Me

Ohio Disciplinary Counsel has charged a Dayton judge with violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct in connection with conduct surrounding the release of an incarcerated criminal defendant.

The underlying convictions “arose from an incident in which [defendant] knocked a police officer to the ground, jumped in the driver’s seat of the police officer’s cruiser, and drove over the officer’s arm while fleeing the scene” and had been sentenced by a different judge to an indeterminate prison term of five to six years.

The defendant’s mother was employed at medical practice patronized by both the sentencing judge and the Respondent.

The complaint alleges extensive ex parte communications concerning the case between Respondent and the mother.

The sentencing judge retired without having ruled on a motion for judicial release; another judge then denied the motion.

Respondent allegedly had the defendant brought to his courtroom and had an ex parte communication with him.

He then granted the release motion in open court with the parties present; he escorted the defendant out of the courthouse to meet mother and defendant’s children.

The State appealed the release as unlawful; another judge learned of the conduct and had the case transferred to a different judge.

Two judges then filed the ethics complaint.

The Ohio Court of Appeals, Second District dismissed the State’s appeal of the release order as moot

The State of Ohio appeals the trial court’s order granting judicial release to Aaron Cox. It argues that Cox was not yet permitted to file a motion for judicial release under R.C. 2929.20(C), that the trial court failed to hold a hearing on the motion under R.C. 2929.20(D), and that the court failed to make findings under R.C. 2929.20(J). For the following reasons, the State’s appeal will be dismissed as moot.

…Because Cox’s judicial release has been revoked and he again is serving his prison sentence, there is no remedy that we could provide even if we were to agree  with the State that the trial court’s grant of judicial release was improper.

The Dayton Daily News reported in June of this year on calls for the judge’s resignation on unrelated allegations

A former Montgomery County courts employee was awarded $70,000 in a settlement for a civil rights lawsuit that alleged he was wrongfully terminated because of his disabilities after being forced to do work at a judge’s private home and law firm.

The civil suit, filed in 2020 in federal court against the Montgomery County commission and Montgomery County Common Pleas Court Judge Richard Skelton, alleged that the judge’s former judicial assistant was retaliated against after taking multiple medical leaves before being diagnosed with cancer.

(Mike Frisch)