Sunday, August 30, 2015
Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor has vehemently rejected our call for a special master appointed by her to delve into the tenure of convicted former Mahoning County Probate Judge Mark Belinky.
O’Connor came to The Vindicator Wednesday to respond to our editorial last Sunday. Details of her rejection of our stance was prominently displayed on the front page of Thursday’s newspaper.
UNCONSTITUTIONAL
The chief justice’s bottom line: What we were asking her to do is unconstitutional because her involvement in the Belinky matter that is the focus of an ongoing criminal investigation would violate the federally mandated separation of powers.
In light of O’Connor’s response to us, we can only hope that the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation and other agencies involved in the case are seeking to answer this question: Did Belinky act alone when he used his guardianship powers to steal money from individuals under his care?