Ohio Judge Suspended for Coerced Pleas, Racial Comments on Bench

The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended a Cleveland-area judge for a year for a spate of misconduct, including coercing plea deals and making comments in court with racial overtones.

The state’s high court followed the recommendation of the Board of Professional Conduct in choosing to suspend Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Daniel Gaul and removing him from the bench for that period.

“Rather than promoting confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, Gaul’s conduct has called those essential elements of our justice system into question while harming multiple litigants,” Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy wrote.

The board said in 2022 that Gaul committed 30 ethics violations in eight cases over a five-year period, which also included unlawfully putting people behind bars and jailing someone for contempt because they said the judge made himself look stupid. The judge admitted to 10 of them.

In a concurring opinion, Justice Patrick Fischer argued for a two-year suspension with one year stayed, saying the imposed sanctions were “too lenient.”

Oral arguments in April largely focused on whether Gaul’s actions were motivated by selfishness, which the Office of Disciplinary Counsel said was an aggravating factor in his case. Gaul, meanwhile, argued that his conduct was not pervasive, which warranted a stayed suspension.

The court agreed with Gaul, saying the state’s judicial rules are ambiguous on what is meant by “selfish” in its definition of it as an aggravating factor.

“While we have determined that Gaul committed numerous rule violations, there is no proof in the record that he engaged in misconduct for his personal advantage or that he was excessively or exclusively concerned with himself,” Kennedy said.

Gaul is currently the longest-serving member of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court’s bench, having served since 1991. He is set to retire at the end of his current term due to age limits. He was featured on the most recent season of the true crime podcast Serial.

The case is Disciplinary Couns. v. Hon. Daniel Gaul, Ohio, No. 2022-1515, 12/29/23.