The Ohio Supreme Court’s Disciplinary Counsel has filed a complaint against former Cleveland Housing Court Judge W. Moná Scott, who lost election in November to Cheryl Wiltshire. The complaint, which is the first step toward potentially sanctioning Scott, triggers a court-style hearing before the Ohio Supreme Court’s Board of Professional Conduct. Scott can contest the charges during that hearing.
The complaint says Scott ignored “unambiguous laws” to deny landlords their right to evict tenants and to delay their cases, instructed prosecutors on how to do their jobs through communication that did not include defense counsel and “berated an attorney for not prosecuting a defendant she wanted to punish.”
Some of the issues raised in the complaint involve Scott’s battles with the owner of apartment buildings near Shaker Square. The complaint also said Scott ignored directives from the Eighth District Court of Appeals, which ruled against her in some cases.
Finally, Scott is accused of chastising a city prosecutor by asking him in open court if he graduated from law school and why he was acting stupid. (Scott apologized soon after.)
Scott has until Jan. 20 to file a written response to the Ohio Supreme Court. Scott told Signal Cleveland she can’t comment on the case. Asked who is representing her, she said, “I’d rather not say.”
The City of Cleveland and its taxpayers would likely have to cover her legal costs because the complaints against her arise from her time as a city employee. In the past, the city has footed the bill for several judges in trouble for their work on the bench. Most notably, in 2013 through 2015, the city spent more than $900,000 on outside legal fees defending former municipal judge Angela Stokes before she struck a deal with Disciplinary Counsel to retire from the bench and never seek election again.
