Ohio’s chief justice offers to help resolve court clash

Like his predecessor, the late Thomas Moyer, Ohio Chief Justice Eric Brown is aware of the issues surrounding the search for a new location for the Youngstown Municipal Court and the proposed consolidation of the courts below the common pleas level. And, like Moyer, who unexpectedly died on April 2, Brown, appointed by Gov. Ted Strickland to fill the top spot on the bench, believes that solutions lie in all the parties coming together.

In other words, Brown isn’t about to order Mayor Jay Williams and city council to give in to the demands of the three judges of the municipal court for $8 million to turn the City Hall Annex building into a municipal courthouse.

On the other hand, the chief justice, a Democrat who is seeking election in November and is being challenged by Republican Supreme Court Justice Maureen O’Connor, made it clear during a recent visit to The Vindicator that the municipal court’s current location in the police headquarters building is unsafe and in deplorable condition.

“Anyone who has seen how Youngstown Municipal Court is set up knows it is inviting trouble,” he said, taking note of the July 14 melee in the hallway of the court.

The judges of the court, Robert A. Douglas Sr., Robert Milich and Elizabeth Kobly, have filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court to force Mayor Williams and council to act on their demands.

While he would not comment on the lawsuit, Chief Justice Brown provided some insight into his thinking with the following comment:

“We have to balance our paramount responsibility of keeping the courts open and making sure people have access to justice with the awareness of the reality of the budget situations at the state and local levels and being respectful of the taxpayer.”

An independent study of the feasibility of eliminating all the courts below the common pleas level and creating a metropolitan system should be completed shortly. The findings will impact whatever decisions are made about the municipal court.

The chief justice’s comments about the budget situations reflect a reality that governments at all levels are facing.

Indeed, Justice O’Connor has unveiled a cost-cutting plan for the supreme court that calls for a 10 percent reduction in its budget request for the biennium. That’s about $6 million.

Salary freeze

She also proposed a two-year salary freeze, eliminating jobs through attrition, and controlling other costs, such as printing.

The message from the high court is clear: The judiciary must tighten its belt.

Thus, as the debate over the Youngstown Municipal Court and court consolidation continues, local officials must know the justices in Columbus are unlikely to issue an order that causes city government to go broke.

Indeed, if Justice O’Connor is elected chief justice, she can be expected to view the situation in Youngstown and Mahoning County with the same attention to finances that her Democratic colleague has shown.

Reasonable people have to sit down and come up with an answer, says Chief Justice Brown. We couldn’t agree more.