No Proof Of Bias

Cleveland.com reports on a decision not to remove a judge from presiding at a high-profile criminal trial

The Ohio Supreme Court rejected a request to remove the judge presiding over the public corruption case against suspended East Cleveland Mayor Brandon King.

The decision came late Wednesday after King’s attorney, Charles Tyler, alleged Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Hollie Gallagher had prejudged a motion and bullied him in open court.

In her ruling, Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy found Gallagher is capable of presiding over the case with “integrity, impartiality and competence.”

King, 57, served as the city’s mayor since 2016. He was indicted last October on 12 counts, including theft in office, unlawful interest in a public contract and soliciting or receiving improper compensation

His trial, set to begin last week, was delayed after Tyler filed a last-minute motion to dismiss three of the charges. Tyler claimed Gallagher had already decided the motion in her chambers, then ordered him to argue it in open court as a ploy to berate and embarrass him.

Tyler’s request to remove Gallagher put the trial on hold. No new date had been set as of Friday, according to court records. In a letter to Kennedy last week, Gallagher responded to the accusations, admitting she was “justifiably” unhappy about Tyler’s motion but denying she had prejudged it. She said she wasn’t disrespectful or hostile to Tyler.

Kennedy, in her decision, said a judge’s unhappiness or anger alone doesn’t prove that the jurist is biased or prejudiced.

“Moreover, the fact that the judge indicated during the in-chambers conference that she was inclined to deny his motion does not mean that she prejudged the case,” she wrote.

Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reached out to Tyler. Gallagher has not commented on the case.

At the time of King’s arrest, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said the mayor demonstrated “a complete disregard and disdain for the rule of law.”

(Mike Frisch)