Ohio Supreme Court seeks public reprimand of Rusu

YOUNGSTOWN — The state’s high court has decided Mahoning County Probate Judge Robert Rusu should be publicly reprimanded for failing to recuse himself as judge from cases he previously took as an attorney.

A complaint filed in January 2018 accused Judge Rusu of hearing more than 185 cases in which he had previously served as an attorney, as well as failing to notify several “active” clients about seeking new counsel after taking the bench.

Judge Rusu admitted to the misconduct, stating he misinterpreted judicial rules. The Ohio Supreme Court Board of Professional Conduct ruled he violated a judicial conduct rule regarding judge impartiality.

The Ohio Supreme Court’s Wednesday opinion ruled a public reprimand was the proper punishment for Judge Rusu’s misconduct.

“Nothing in the record indicates that Rusu’s misconduct that is at issue in this case caused measurable harm to any litigants or resulted in anything less than the evenhanded administration of justice,” the opinion reads. “By performing judicial functions in the same cases in which he had previously represented clients, however, Rusu created an appearance of impropriety that adversely reflected on the independence, integrity and impartiality of the judiciary — even though many of his actions were ministerial in nature.”

Judge Rusu must also pay any costs arising from the case.

Gov. John Kasich appointed Judge Rusu to the county probate bench in July 2014, following the resignation of former Probate Court Judge Mark Belinky, who was convicted of tampering with campaign contribution records. Judge Rusu was elected to a full term on the probate bench in November 2014.

Read more in Thursday’s Vindicator and on Vindy.com.