State says Judge Mingo boosted 'perception of the judiciary' in handling of call by mayor

The Ohio Disciplinary Counsel, the agency that investigates judges and lawyers accused of misconduct, has dismissed a complaint against a Franklin County municipal judge who was involved with an improper "ex parte" phone conversation last year.

Municipal Judge Stephanie Mingo initially declined to identify Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther as the city official who had inappropriately contacted her last year and instructed her how to rule in a lawsuit filed by the city.

The complaint against Mingo had apparently been filed by the creator of a Columbus political newsletter. Donald J. Byrnes, who operates "The Rooster" newsletter that largely focuses on insider Ohio Statehouse and local news, posted on social media site "X" Friday a letter addressed to him from state Disciplinary Counsel Joseph Caligiuri stating that Byrnes' complaint, filed in January, had been dismissed and the case closed.

It's unclear if there are other cases still pending against Mingo regarding the incident, which happened last October when the city filed a lawsuit before Mingo attempting to shutter a new intercity bus depot that had recently opened at a former gas station on the Hilltop. Caligiuri's letter stated that his office had already been investigating the Mingo incident when it received Byrnes' complaint.

"There is no disciplinary action against Judge Mingo," said Jodi Andes, spokesperson for the Municipal Court. "The matter has been dismissed."

Andes directed questions to the Disciplinary Counsel, but Caligiuri said the matter must remain confidential under state rules, and he can't confirm nor deny that any investigation of Mingo's handling of the Ginther "ex parte" communication ever took place.

In the letter posted Friday by Byrnes , Caligiuri notes that Mingo ultimately recused herself from the case concerning the bus depot, which the city charged had become a crime and traffic nuisance to the neighborhood.

Evidence indicated that Mingo had returned a call from Ginther unaware of the topic the mayor wanted to discuss , and when he began instructing her on how to rule in the case, she ended the call, Caligiuri says in the letter. Mingo called attorneys from the city and bus companies to a conference to disclose the call - but refused to say who it was from.

Mingo waited until Dec. 8, well after Ginther's successful November re-election, to finally disclose that the call was from Ginther, and only after the parties had filed a joint motion asking for the caller's identity.

"In our opinion, Judge Mingo handled this matter in exemplary fashion," Caligiuri wrote to Byrnes. "...We feel Judge Mingo's response to the situation served to enhance the public's perception of the judiciary."

Caligiuri's view wasn't shared by professors of law contacted in January by The Dispatch , who said they could find no reason in jurisprudence that Mingo should have withheld from the public court file that Ginther had attempted inappropriate communications with her.

"I know that you care about the community," Mingo recalled Ginther telling her. "I care about the community. This Greyhound station is a problem for the community. We really need you to do the right thing for the community and shut it down."

"I can't think of a reason why it would have been improper for her to be transparent about this improper ex parte communication from the mayor," Kathleen Clark, a professor of law at Washington University in St. Louis, said in January.

That remains an investigation into whether Ginther violated any laws in attempting to contact a sitting judge and influence her decision making.

Brad Nichodemus , who has since become city attorney for Whitehall, was appointed by Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein to look into Ginther's actions. But over eight month's later, no report has been delivered.

Nichodemus told The Dispatch several weeks ago that he had interviewed everyone involved except Ginther, and was planning to do that within days and complete the investigation. He couldn't be reached for comment Friday.

wbush@gannett.com

@ReporterBush

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: State says Judge Mingo boosted 'perception of the judiciary' in handling of call by mayor