Visiting judge to handle case of attorney, trooper

LISBON -- An attorney accused of punching a state trooper will have his case heard by a visiting judge in Columbiana County Municipal Court.
Judge David Tobin of common pleas court issued that ruling regarding Atty. Carl Joseph King, who faces misdemeanor counts of resisting arrest and obstructing official business.
King originally was charged with assault, a fourth-degree felony. Felonies typically are heard in common pleas court.
A county grand jury chose not to indict King on the felony, indicting him instead on the misdemeanors, which are heard in municipal court.
Perry Dickinson, a retired Portage County judge, will hear the case. Judge Dickinson presided over King's initial court appearances in municipal court.
Judge Dickinson and a special prosecutor are assigned to handle the case because King is well-known in the county legal community.
Authorities have accused King of punching an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper Nov. 1 at the patrol barracks after a traffic stop of a car in which King was a passenger.
King faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine on the resisting arrest charge. The maximum for obstructing official business is 90 days in jail and a $750 fine.