Elkins v. Scripps Media, Inc. (In re Gallagher)
Elkins v. Scripps Media, Inc. (In re Gallagher)
Opinion of the Court
*1251{¶ 1} Monica L. Dias, counsel for the defendants, filed an affidavit with the clerk of this court pursuant to R.C. 2701.03 seeking to disqualify Judge Kelly Ann Gallagher and all other judges of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas from the above-referenced case. Judge Gallagher voluntarily recused herself, and therefore, Ms. Dias's affidavit to disqualify Judge Gallagher was previously dismissed as moot.
{¶ 2} With respect to the remainder of the common pleas bench, Ms. Dias avers that the judges should be disqualified to avoid any appearance of bias or impropriety.
*854According to Ms. Dias, one of the plaintiffs, Trevor Elkins, is "very politically active" in the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party and "[b]ecause the vast majority of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas judges are Democrats," a visiting judge from another county "who is immune from Cuyahoga County politics" should be appointed to "ensure and preserve impartiality and fairness in the proceedings." Mr. Elkins is also the mayor of Newburgh Heights, Ohio.
*1252{¶ 3} Administrative Judge John J. Russo submitted a response on behalf of the common pleas court. Judge Russo states that nothing in Ms. Dias's affidavit establishes that disqualification of the entire bench is warranted, and therefore, he requests that the affidavit be denied.
{¶ 4} As noted by Ms. Dias, the chief justice has disqualified entire benches of judges when the existence of a personal, professional, or political relationship between the judges and one of the parties to the underlying case could suggest to the reasonable person the appearance of bias or impropriety. For example, in In re Disqualification of Corrigan ,
{¶ 5} Similarly, in In re Disqualification of Celebrezze ,
{¶ 6} In this case, however, Ms. Dias has not established a similar relationship between the judges of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas and any party in the underlying case. Mr. Elkins is the mayor of a village located in Cuyahoga County. But he is not a county officeholder, and he has no influence over the funding of the common pleas court. Nor has Ms. Dias alleged or established that Mr. Elkins has significant personal and political relationships with many of the county's common pleas judges. The record shows that Mr. Elkins is politically active in local party politics, that he serves on committees that endorse candidates for county races, and that he recently ran unsuccessfully to become chair of the same county political party to which an overwhelming *1253majority of the county's common pleas judges belong. "We presume, however, that judges are able to set aside any partisan interests once they have assumed judicial office and have taken an oath to decide *855cases on the facts and the law before them." In re Disqualification of Bryant ,
{¶ 7} Based on this record, Mr. Elkins's involvement in local party politics, without more, is insufficient to warrant disqualification of the entire county common pleas bench. See, e.g., Osowik (denying a request to disqualify an entire bench from a case involving a defendant who had formerly chaired a county political party and who had allegedly campaigned against nearly all judges of the court); In re Disqualification of Ghiz ,
{¶ 8} The affidavit of disqualification is therefore denied.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF GALLAGHER Elkins v. Scripps Media, Inc.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published