Suspended county judge, Montgomery County clerk of courts appear in court

A suspended county judge and Montgomery County’s Clerk of Courts were in court for the first time Monday.

As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, Montgomery County Municipal Court Judge James Piergies is usually behind the bench in court, but Monday the now suspended-with-pay judge was seated at the defense table.

As long as his criminal case is open, he’s disqualified from acting as a judge under Ohio Supreme Court Rules.

His co-defendant, Montgomery County Clerk of Courts Mike Foley, was seated to his right.

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A visiting judge in the case gave both men an “own recognizance” bond This means they have to sign a piece of paper promising to appear at all court hearings and don’t have to pay money to stay out of jail.

State investigators said the charges against the judge relate to his son’s employment.

As News Center 7 previously reported, Piergies worked for the clerk’s office until mid-June when he resigned.

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Foley is accused of several crimes including theft in office and unlawfully asking public employees for political contributions.

There have been calls from leadership of both major parties in Montgomery County for Piergies and Foley to resign.

“We’re gonna kick him out of this party because we don’t stand for this behavior,” said State Rep. Phil Plummer, Montgomery County Republican Party Chair.

Foley’s lawyer told News Center 7 he’s sticking to what he previously said: he isn’t going anywhere. He added Foley is running for re-election in November.

Montgomery County GOP leadership said he’ll be doing that without the party’s help.

Piergies lawyer declined to comment on the charges or the calls for him to resign beyond saying he looks forward to getting evidence from prosecutors and defending this case.