COLUMBUS - Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge Harry Sargeant, Jr., yesterday became the first judge in Ohio to be disciplined for poor time-management skills.
The Ohio Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Judge Sargeant for failing to decide a number of cases - from 1998 to 2007 - within the deadlines set by the state's Rules of Superintendence.
The court ruled that Judge Sargeant let cases in his court lie in "legal limbo," often for a period of years after they were supposed to be decided.
Ohio judges are allowed 12 months to decide cases for modification or enforcement of child support orders, 18 months for divorces involving children, and 12 months for divorces without children. While other Ohio judges had between 2 and 5 percent of divorce cases involving children on their dockets longer than they were supposed to in 2001, Judge Sargeant had 21 percent of those cases on his docket longer than the state allows.
He also had an average of between 4 and 11 percent of divorce cases without children on his docket too long, reaching a high of 43 percent of those cases in 2001.
Chief Justice Thomas Moyer wrote in his opinion that a rate of 10 percent indicates "a case-management problem.""This case is unique," the chief justice wrote. "This court has not previously been presented with a recommendation that we sanction a judge solely for the judge's failure to manage his or her docket pursuant to the deadlines provided in the Rules of Superintendence."
Judge Sargeant's "conduct was inherently injurious as it prevented timely resolution of disputes that profoundly affected the lives of those, in particular children, whose interests were before his court."
The court could have further disciplined Judge Sargeant but decided to publicly reprimand him only, in part, because he has no prior disciplinary record and his judicial term ends in December, when he plans to retire.
The judge also has hired a law clerk to assist him.
During the time in question, Judge Sargeant's court was understaffed, the judge's attorney, Charles Kettlewell, said.
The staff problem has been solved and his docket is current, Mr. Kettlewell added.
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