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An Ohio judge was removed from the bench on Tuesday for misconduct, including repeated lying, issuing illegal arrest warrants and wearing spandex shorts, tank tops and sneakers in court.
Judge Pinky Susan Carr was indefinitely suspended by the Ohio Supreme Court because she agreed to undergo evaluations of her mental and physical health. She had been charged with more than 100 cases of misconduct.
Carr received the second most severe sanction that can be imposed on a lawyer or judge for ethical violations.
The attorney who defended her, Nicholas Froning, argued that the judge’s poor behavior as a civil servant was the result of “battered” or “untreated” conditions, including “sleep apnea, menopause, and general mood disorder” — an argument the panel found difficult. had time to buy.
Carr’s misconduct was first exposed as she continued to hold court hearings after the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic forced the courthouse to close.
She then issued arrest warrants against defendants who failed to appear in court, despite being told that this was not mandatory due to the coronavirus.
Judge Pinkey Susan Carr of Cleveland, Ohio Municipal Court was suspended indefinitely Tuesday after a series of egregious behavior in her professional life, including holding a bank full of novelties.
Carr was charged with, among other things, issuing illegal arrest warrants and waiving fines for arbitrary reasons, as well as making fun of taking bribes in her courtroom.
Prior to her disciplinary sentence, Carr had been a judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court since 2012, previously serving as a prosecutor for the City of Cleveland
Ohio Supreme Court heard the disciplinary case filed against Carr and decided to suspend her from the bench indefinitely on Tuesday
She repeatedly set $5,000 and $10,000 bail for defendants who were not in court and then lied, saying it was “absolutely untrue” that she had issued said warrants.
In the destructive 58 pages archive In the charges against her, Carr is charged with all sorts of blatant conduct that amounts to presiding over her courtroom “in a manner befitting a game show host rather than a Cleveland Municipal Court judge.”
She often humiliated defendants and lawyers in her courtroom, calling a lawyer who questioned the court during the pandemic a “little idiot.”
“She ran the court from a bench covered with an array of dolls, cups and junk news,” the file read.
She openly discussed the Starz television show P-Valley, which is about a Mississippi strip club.
‘You know what my P-valley, my name is Passion. I have to go to that class, though, so I can learn how to climb that pole,” she said, also referring to her bailiff as “Miss Pudding from P-Valley.”
She repeatedly waived fines and canceled court reprimands for defendants for arbitrary reasons, including the timing of their birthdays.
In court files, she wrote a number of times that she had waived a fine because “the defendant’s birthday was that month” or “the defendant’s birthday was nine days before Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m going to suspend your fine and costs because you know Eric. And his birthday is May 26, the same day as my best friend’s birthday,” she said in one instance.
She also pushed the boundaries of her judiciary in the absence of a prosecutor.
“The prosecutor isn’t here. Let’s see how much we can get away with,” she said, according to the statement.
She once ordered someone to spend 15 days in jail for rolling their eyes and making a sarcastic comment in her courtroom.
And of course, her workplace wardrobe also challenged the standards of her position.
According to the complaint, “She has appeared on the couch on several occasions in workout clothes consisting of a tank top and long shorts; or a T-shirt and above-the-knee spandex shorts and sneakers.”
She also made it a habit to wear loud and flashy necklaces and other jewelry to court, which complemented the countless flowers, bottles, and other novelties she kept on her couch.
Carr’s attorney Nicholas Froning argued before the state Supreme Court that Carr suffered from sleep apnea, a general mood disorder and menopause for the duration of her unethical behavior from the couch.
Members of the Ohio Supreme Court seemed reluctant to accept her attorney’s argument that Carr suffered from a handful of mood disorders that were at the root of her deteriorating professional behavior.
“When it comes to sleep apnea, she couldn’t get the necessary sleep. When it comes to menopause, she was dealing with issues where she couldn’t function 100%,” Carr’s attorney said.
“How does sleep apnea or menopause contribute to lying?” asked Ohio judge Patrick Fischer.
Froning struggled to respond directly to the question.
Carr also reportedly misled her own attorney, her character witnesses, and therapists into making her misconduct appear less serious than it actually was.
Opponent’s lawyer, Joseph Caligiuri, of the disciplinary counsel for the Council of Professional Conduct, said even the medical expert who had to testify in the case “couldn’t make a connection between the diagnoses and lying.”
Further undermining Carr’s defense was the charge that the medical expert in the case had not reviewed the full evidence of the case, as well as acting as a personal psychotherapist for Carr, compromising his objectivity.
The attorney arguing on behalf of disciplinary counsel said that while Carr was initially not honest about many of her misdeeds at the bank, she ultimately chose to cooperate.
The board recommended that Carr be suspended for two years. Those two years include Carr’s next judicial election cycle in 2023, meaning she would actually serve as a judge for more than two years.
After two years, she will be eligible for a request for rehabilitation in practice.
According to a local Cleveland outlet, Carr was twice engaged in 2013, but never married. She is also an active member of her church community and has spent years volunteering at local Cleveland soup kitchens and with children’s literacy programs.