On Tuesday, December 2, 2025, Jeffrey L. Clemens filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of Ohio seeking a writ of mandamus against Ottawa County Municipal Court Magistrate Judge David R. Boldt. The case demands Judge Boldt to prepare and file a formal written decision regarding his verdict in the case of State of Ohio v. Jeffrey Clemens, Case No. CRB-2400354, which concluded on April 22, 2025.
Clemens alleges that Judge Boldt has failed to fulfill his mandated duty under Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 53, by not providing a written memorandum of the trial verdict. The legal action stems from a criminal trespass case against Clemens, originating from incidents at the Marblehead, Ohio Post Office in 2023 and 2024.
According to the filing, the initial issue arose on May 17, 2023, when Clemens inquired about a lost letter at the Marblehead Post Office. An interaction with the postmaster, Barb Distel, led to her requesting Clemens to leave the premises. Clemens was later charged with two counts of criminal trespass following subsequent visits to the post office.
The trial, presided over by Judge Boldt, took place over two days, January 24 and April 22, 2025. Clemens claims that despite multiple defense witnesses failing to appear, Judge Boldt insisted on concluding the trial on April 22, 2025, where he found Clemens guilty on both counts.
Clemens subsequently filed a motion for a mistrial, which was denied on May 23, 2025. A motion for reconsideration was also immediately denied. Clemens asserts that while Judge Boldt filed a decision on May 27, 2025, it only addressed the mistrial motion and not the original trial verdict.
Further complicating the matter, Clemens filed a motion for retrial based on new evidence on August 18, 2025. Judge Louis Wargo held a hearing on this motion on September 12, 2025, but no decision was rendered that day. As Clemens had not received notice of a ruling by his scheduled sentencing date of September 19, 2025, he notified the court of his intent not to appear, believing his retrial motion was still pending.
Judge Wargo then issued a failure to appear bench warrant and set a $5,000 cash bond. Clemens’ attempt to have the warrant set aside was denied, leading him to file a motion requesting Judge Boldt to prepare and file a written decision regarding the April 22, 2025, verdict, which was also denied.
Clemens argues that the Ohio Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 53, mandates that a magistrate’s decision be in writing. He seeks a writ of mandamus to compel Judge Boldt to comply with this rule, allowing for objections to be properly raised and addressed. Clemens contends that the absence of a written decision has prevented him from pursuing further legal remedies, including an appeal.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
