Fed judge: Claudia Hoerig's case can't move to federal court

CLEVELAND

Federal Judge Dan Polster has denied a request by murder defendant Claudia Hoerig to have her case moved to federal court.

The judge issued a decision Thursday, saying Hoerig’s hand-written request does not meet the requirements for a criminal case to be moved to federal court.

His judgment entry says “removal” to federal court is “limited to state court civil actions over which the federal district courts have original jurisdiction.”

For a criminal case like Hoerig’s, moving the case from Trumbull County Common Pleas court only happens “in rare and extreme circumstances.” He said her request “does not satisfy those narrow criteria.”

Hoerig is charged with killing her husband, Karl Hoerig, in their Newton Falls home in 2007. She fled to her native Brazil afterwards and was returned to Trumbull County to face trial before Judge Andrew Logan.

Hoerig filed a request Nov. 9 asking for the removal to federal court, saying it was “due to [Judge Logan’s] refusal to be impartial and him being part of a conspiracy to violate my constitutional rights that led to my illegal arrest and my illegal extradition.”

Judge Polster noted that Claudia Hoerig’s request does not affect her criminal case in common pleas court, which is set for a Jan. 14 trial.