| ► Judge Terry Steven held to Higher Standard of Conduct than Justice O’Donnell |
 |
 |
|
Judge Terry Steven of Cleveland; held to Higher Standard of Conduct than Justice O’Donnell
Judge Terry Steven of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas is presently being tried in Cleveland by the Feds for alleged corruption.
Part and parcel of the criminal allegations against Judge Steven’s is that he typically spent afternoons dealing with campaign issues like mapping out election strategies and making political calls. (James McCarthy, Cleveland Plain Dealer, 06/06/2011)
Put simply, Steven’s is charged with bilking the public by collecting state/county wages while he was involved in campaigning activities, which included the use of county employees and/or resources.
Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell’s Campaign Conduct
Now let’s take a minute and see if Judge Steven’s is being held to a higher standard of conduct that Ohio Supreme Court Justice Terrence O’Donnell was held regarding similar charges of misconduct.
While running for re-election in to the Supreme Court against Court of Appeals Judge William M. O’Neill, Terrence consistently utilized a state-owned Buick Park Avenue Ultra for campaign purposes. He also fueled up the Buick Ultra with a state-paid-for fuel charge card. The documentary evidence of O’Donnell’s use of state property for purely partisan political purposes is not in dispute.
Justice Terrence’s defense to this unseemly and in my opinion illegal conduct was to rely on what can only be described as an illegal order issued by then Chief Justice Thomas Moyer. Unbelievably, Moyer personally entered an order allowing all Supreme Court Justices, including himself, to utilize state vehicles and fuel for campaign purposes.
It certainly seems to me that Judge Stevens is in fact being held to a much different standard of conduct than O’Donnell, et al. Put simply, it would appear that “all men are not created equal in Cleveland.”
Now, I’m in no position to comment on the efficacy of the other pending criminal charges that were lodged against Judge Stevens. I’m only stating that if I was his defense attorney, I’d damn sure bring up the fact that Supreme Court Justices have never been prosecuted for engaging in campaign activities while receiving a state paycheck and/or for the use of state resources.
Apparently in Ohio, what’s good for the Goose (Judge Steven) isn’t good enough for the Geese (Justice O’Donnell, et al.).
|
