In re Disqualification of White - Ohio Supreme Court Opinion - Ohio Supreme Court Decision

	ROMINGER LEGAL
		Ohio Court Cases and Opinions - Ohio Legal Research
					Need Legal Help?
					Need Legal Help?
LEGAL RESEARCH CENTER
LEGAL RESEARCH CENTER			LEGAL HEADLINES - CASE LAW - LEGAL FORMS	NOT FINDING WHAT YOU NEED? -RESEARCH

This court case was taken from the web sites of the Ohio Courts. Search our site for more cases - CLICK HERE

LEGAL RESEARCH

COURT REPORTERS

PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS

PROCESS SERVERS

DOCUMENT RETRIEVERS

EXPERT WITNESSES

Find a Private Investigator

Find an Expert Witness

Find a Process Server

Case Law - save on Lexis / WestLaw.

Legal News - Legal Headlines

[Cite as In re Disqualification of White, 91 Ohio St.3d 1203, 2000-Ohio-111.]

IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF WHITE.
GAULT v. THE JOEL POMERENE MEMORIAL HOSPITAL.
[Cite as In re Disqualification of White (2000), 91 Ohio St.3d 1203.]
Judges -- Affidavit of disqualification -- Allegation that judge appointed
members to defendant hospital's board of trustees -- Judge's
appointments are required by statute and are limited -- No bias or
prejudice shown.
(No. 00-AP-037 -- Decided April 22, 2000.)
ON AFFIDAVIT OF DISQUALIFICATION in Holmes County Common Pleas Court
case No. 99CV014.
__________________

MOYER, C.J. This affidavit of disqualification filed by Robert A. Bracco,
counsel for plaintiff Patricia L. Gault, seeks the disqualification of Judge Thomas
White from further proceedings regarding the above-referenced case.

Affiant contends that Judge White should be disqualified from the
underlying case because the judge has appointed members to the defendant-
hospital's board of trustees and because the judge may have appointed friends or
colleagues to the board. This contention is not well taken on the authority of In re
Disqualification of Morley (1994), 74 Ohio St.3d 1265, 657 N.E.2d 1363, wherein
bias and prejudice was alleged because the judge was responsible for appointing a
member to the board of commissioners of a park district. In that situation, the
judge had appointed only one park commissioner and had done so pursuant to
express statutory authority.

Similar to the situation presented in Morley, Judge White's participation in
the appointment process is required by statute and is limited in that he has only
one of the five votes that can be cast in appointing a trustee. See R.C. 339.02.

SUPREME COURT OF OHIO
The judges have taken additional steps to limit their involvement in the selection
of trustees by allowing the county commissioners, who have three votes in the
appointment process, to recruit, advertise for, and interview prospective trustees.

Moreover, affiant offers no evidence in support of his contention that the
judge may have used his appointment authority to name friends or colleagues to
the hospital board. Judge White specifically denies that a friend or associate has
been appointed to the hospital board during his tenure.

For these reasons, the affidavit of disqualification is found not well taken
and is denied. The case shall proceed before Judge White.
__________________
2