Ohio judge removed over 'unprecedented misconduct' including courtroom jokes about bribes, strip clubs

By Danielle Wallace

The Ohio Supreme Court suspended indefinitely and removed from office a Cleveland judge for alleged "unprecedented misconduct" over a two-year period that included "blatant and systematic disregard of due process, the law, court orders, and local rules."

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr, elected to the bench in 2011, "also was repeatedly dishonest, treated court staff and litigants disrespectfully, abused her power to issue arrest warrants and find individuals in contempt of court," according to statement from the Ohio court system.  

In March 2021, Carr was charged with five counts of judicial misconduct. Carr violated rules governing the appropriate dress, order, and decorum for courtrooms. 

"Her bench was littered with dolls, cups, novelty items, and junk," according to the Ohio Supreme Court. "She presided over her courtroom wearing tank tops, T-shirts – some with images or slogans, spandex shorts, and sneakers. She discussed with her staff and defendants a television show called "P-Valley" about a fictional Mississippi strip club." 

Judge Pinkey S. Carr was elected to the Cleveland Municipal Court bench on November 8, 2011. She officially joined the court when her term began on January 3, 2012. (Cleveland Municipal Court)

"She also joked about accepting kickbacks in lieu of fines and having defendants give her and court staff items such as food, beverages, carpeting, or storage space in exchange for lenient sentences," the court added. "The Supreme Court’s opinion concluded that these actions undermined public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary."

Of the alleged misconduct, Carr was also accused of ignoring a court order to reschedule cases during to onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.  Carr continued to preside over her regular docket the next week. 

For criminal defendants who did not appear, she ordered them to be arrested and set bonds ranging from $2,500 to $10,000. For defendants who were "brave enough," according to Carr, to appear in court despite the potential for exposure to the virus, she waived fines and court costs.

This file photo shows a judge's gavel.  (Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)

During the disciplinary process, Carr agreed to 583 statements of fact and misconduct stretching across 126 pages. 

Among her ethics violations, the judge acknowledged that she often held hearings without a prosecutor present to avoid complying with the safeguards in state law – such as the requirements that a judge informs the accused of the nature of the charge, the identity of the complainant, the right to counsel, and the effect of different pleas.

The judge also falsified court journal entries by claiming that the prosecutor had amended charges or that she had held hearings to determine a defendant’s ability to pay fines or court costs. 

She also used warrants and incarceration to force the payment of fines, creating a "modern-day debtors’ prison," resulting in at least five people spending time in jail. 

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Ohio judge removed over 'unprecedented misconduct' including courtroom jokes about bribes, strip clubs

Owensboro judge ousted from office for multiple violations of judicial conduct rules

by Andrew Wolfson 

A family court judge from Owensboro who allegedly destroyed evidence and called the presiding judge when her son was charged with assaulting her has been removed from office.

Judge Julia Hawes Gordon also held court late into the night, sometimes requiring parents and their children to appear after midnight. 

And when a treatment center refused to test defendants for drugs, Gordon had her staff do so, despite their lack of training, and they put urine samples in the same refrigerator where they stored their lunch.

On Friday afternoon, the Judicial Conduct Commission issued a unanimous decision, ordering Gordon’s ouster from the bench.

“This case does not involve one or two isolated occurrences, but instead involves Judge Gordon’s pattern of misconduct and her repeated exercise of extremely poor judgment and her engagement in profoundly unwise action — on and off the Bench — that continued for years” the commission said in a 25-page opinion and order.

The panel said Gordon’s misconduct continued even after she learned she was the subject of a massive complaint.

“Judges should maintain the dignity of judicial office at all times, and avoid both impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and personal lives,” the commission said. “They should aspire at all times to conduct that ensures the greatest public confidence in their independence, impartiality, integrity, and competence.”

The commission said Gordon “failed in essentially every respect of this fundamental rule applicable to all judges.”

Gordon had already been suspended in December.

The commission said Gordon could have been disqualified based just on the first count of the complaint — that she sought to influence the amount of the bond in the case against her son and destroyed evidence against him.

The panel said that constituted misconduct in office and violated eight sections of the judicial canons of conduct.

The agency also said she violated ethics rules by appointing a criminal defense lawyer who represented her son as a guardian ad litem, allowing him to win fees.

And it said she tried to use her influence with the county jailer to win favorable treatment for her son.

The commission found by a 6-0 vote that Gordon violated five of the six counts of the complaint.

In a story in December, The Courier Journal reported Gordon told the agency in a letter that "she was acting as a mother" when she tried to help her son.

In a written response to the complaint, however, she acknowledged some of the allegations, including several involving him.

"As painful, embarrassing and expensive as this investigation has been, it has caused Judge Gordon to gain many insights that she respectfully submits will make her a better judge,” her lawyers said in the response.

"Judge Gordon has gained a clearer understanding of the reality that she is always a judge — on and off the bench. This is true even when she is acting as the parent of an addicted child with severe mental health issues, and even when she is a crime victim at the hands of that child."

Gordon, 42, who hails from an influential Owensboro family (a park and golf course are named for former Mayor Ben Hawes, her great uncle) was elected to her first term in 2016. 

She was Daviess County’s first family court judge, and filed for re-election in November.

In response to a request for comment, her lawyer, Kent Westberry, said: "We are disappointed and disagree with this decision. We are currently reviewing it carefully and after that review we will decide our steps going forward."

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Owensboro judge ousted from office for multiple violations of judicial conduct rules