A class action settlement that was filed on October 10, 2011 secures over $400,000 in damages for youth who were held in detention cells at the Washington County Juvenile Center in Marietta, Ohio.  The settlement also requires changes in Center operations including ending the use of the detention cells for holding youth longer than 24 hours.  The proposed settlement must still be approved by the federal court.  The case was filed in December, 2010 and co-counsel Al Gerhardstein complimented the County for its response, “I commend Washington County for addressing our concerns promptly and working with us to remedy the problems at the Center.  We are hopeful that Judge Sargus will approve the settlement and that we can start making distributions early next year.”  For further Information, see the press release; Motion to Approve the Settlement; the Proposed Class Action Consent Decree; and the Class Notice.  Questions about the settlement should be directed to co-counsel Jennifer Branch at 513.621.9100.

 James Gray was shot in the face after he was stopped by Middleport Officer Steve Koebel.  Mr. Gray was unarmed.  He filed a civil rights case challenging the shooting as excessive force and claiming that the Village of Middleport failed to adequately train and supervise Mr. Koebel.  The case was settled in August, 2011 for the sum of $450,000.00.  Several problems with officer selection, training and supervision were identified during the litigation and The Village of Middleport has taken significant steps to fix those problems.  A letter summarizing the screening, supervision and training reforms was sent to Plaintiff’s counsel Al Gerhardstein.  Co-counsel on the case was Trenton Cleland of Pomeroy, Ohio.

 The Village of Middleport, Ohio has entered into a consent decree reforming the procedures used in its Mayor’s Court.  Tammy Thomas challenged the Court procedures when she was unable to present witnesses in her traffic case.  She also claimed that the Mayor was not a neutral decision maker since he had an incentive to collect fines to fund city services.  The case was settled with a consent decree.  Damages were also paid to Ms. Thomas.  Pomeroy attorney Trenton Cleland was co-counsel with Al Gerhardstein on the case.

A class action civil rights complaint was filed December 7, 2010, alleging unconstitutional conditions at the Washington County Juvenile Center in Marietta, Ohio.  Eight plaintiffs make allegations touching every aspect of facility life including,

• locking youth in cells for 23 hours per day;
• denying outdoor recreation to youth in detention;
• forcing many youth to wear leg shackles when they receive indoor recreation;
• requiring youth to wear suicide smocks as punishment;
• imposing punishment without due process;
• forcing youth to work at for profit businesses in the community without pay;
• arbitrarily extending program time for youth;
• requiring youth to engage in degrading activities such as cleaning an entire gymnasium with toothbrushes;
• ignoring, delaying and providing inappropriate treatment for medical conditions.

 Plaintiffs seek damages and reforms at the Center.  Attorney Al Gerhardstein states that,  “These are very serious allegations made only after extensive interviews with youth who have served time in the Center and after reviewing their files.  We have shared our concerns with the County representatives and we are encouraged by their commitment to promptly investigate the facts with us and determine if the claims can be resolved.”  The case is filed in federal court in Columbus.  The Plaintiffs and Defense counsel have joined in a request to the Court to assist the parties with expedited review of the facts and, if possible, an early mediation of the case.

Tracie Hunter, candidate for Hamilton County Juvenile Court, has sued the Hamilton County Board of Elections for equal protection and due process violations.  Tracie Hunter was 2,800 votes behind her opponent after the unofficial results on Election night.  After provisional ballots were counted, she closed the gap to just 23 votes.  Ms. Hunter filed this case in U.S. District court seeking an injunction ordering the Board of Elections to treat all provisional ballots the same.  The Board has counted some faulty provisional ballots if the fault was due to poll worker error.  Ms. Hunter sought an order requiring that no provisional ballots be rejected because of poll worker error.  U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott granted Ms. Hunter’s Motion for a Preliminary Injunction and ordered the Board of Elections to investigate provisional ballots that were cast in the right voting location but at the wrong precinct, and if poll worker error is found, to count the ballots.  There are 289 ballots that were cast in the right location but in the wrong precinct.  The Sixth Circuit Affirmed the injunction.  Tracie Hunter’s opponent appealed the Injunction.  To see pleadings in the case, click here.