ATHENS, Ohio — Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge George McCarthy claimed in an Oct. 19 filing with the Ohio Supreme Court that the Athens County Prosecutor only sought to disqualify him from presiding over local cases in order to “punish the Court for disagreeing” with his office.
McCarthy also took aim at Blackburn’s approach to prosecution, writing in the filing that Blackburn has “little or no regard for the judicial process nor the due process the Court is trying to provide” and is primarily interested in “wins.”
Blackburn declined to comment on McCarthy’s filing.
“I am very proud of the work my office has done to pursue justice on behalf of the people of the state of Ohio,” Blackburn told the Independent in an Oct. 21 email. “We will continue to pursue justice and work to make our community better.”
The dispute between the judge and prosecutor pertains to the case of Mark Butcher, a man approaching the end of a years-long prison sentence.
In June, McCarthy granted Butcher additional time to make his case for an early release from prison. Blackburn objected, and threatened to file with a higher court to block Butcher’s hearing from going forward.
The hearing took place, and McCarthy ultimately agreed with Blackburn that Butcher should not be released from prison early.
However, in a filing on the subject, McCarthy wrote at length about his issues with Blackburn’s approach to prosecution, both in the Butcher case and in unrelated instances.
Citing that filing and McCarthy’s statements at court, Blackburn filed an affidavit with the Ohio Supreme Court, arguing that McCarthy’s statements about Blackburn’s office demonstrated a bias against the prosecutor’s office. Blackburn requested that McCarthy be disqualified from presiding over two of Butcher’s cases.
BLOCK: County prosecutor claims local judge is biased
Blackburn’s affidavit was filed Oct. 1, the same day McCarthy denied Butcher’s motion to be released early.
In McCarthy’s response, he says that “the issue of potential bias is resolved with the Court’s decision which was in State’s favor” and that the issue of disqualification is now moot.
Two weeks passed between McCarthy’s decision on Butcher’s motion and his filing with the Ohio Supreme Court. However, Blackburn did not withdraw his motion for disqualification. McCarthy argues that demonstrates “the State’s current mission is to continue to badger the Court for daring to oppose its position.”
McCarthy also defended his statements critical of the prosecutor’s office. He said those statements did not demonstrate bias against the office.
“The Court lets the State operate as they see fit but notes it has processed its share of objections to the State’s methods,” McCarthy’s filing states. “However, the Court remains fair and impartial in carrying out its duties.”
He added that Blackburn’s initial goal in threatening to take the issue of Butcher’s hearing to a higher court may have been to delay proceedings until Butcher’s request for an early release became irrelevant. “But it has gone beyond that now,” McCarthy said in his filing.
“The State has now played its wild card and gone straight to the Ohio Supreme Court to complain,” McCarthy added. “The Court submits not for purposes of seeking justice – this Court’s decision was in the State’s favor and it denied Defendant’s motion. Rather the undersigned suggests it is to punish the Court for disagreeing with the State’s position in the first place.”
Beyond the Butcher case, McCarthy outlined examples in his Oct. 19 filing of what he described as a pattern of his remaining “fair and unbiased despite the State’s actions.” He cited one example in which Blackburn directed his co-counsel not to listen to the court’s decision and to instead leave the courtroom with him.
In another example, McCarthy said Blackburn’s office solicited testimony to show a defendant used drugs, even though McCarthy has explicitly instructed the prosecutor’s office not to solicit that testimony.
In these and in other instances, McCarthy said he remained fair and impartial despite the circumstances.
“The Court feels the State has engaged in a pattern of behavior where they do what they want without fear of recourse,” McCarthy wrote. “Even as far as going straight to the supreme court and bypassing any normal process. This Court has taken it all in stride and the Court has remained, and will remain, fair and impartial in dealing with the parties.”
A clerk with the Ohio Supreme Court told the Independent there is no timeline for when Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy will decide on Blackburn’s request to disqualify McCarthy from the cases involving Butcher.
