On Wednesday, September 6, 2023, WKYC.com reported that former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr was found guilty and sentenced for falsification after an investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Carr pleaded no contest to three counts of falsification and was sentenced to four months of probation by a visiting judge. She is also required to pay court costs.

On  July 25, 2023, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation charged Carr with three counts of falsification, a first-degree misdemeanor. These charges are related to allegations of falsification in her journal entries during her time on the bench.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost commented on the case, stating, “When the judge acts like a jester, justice goes awry.” He emphasized that Carr’s criminal sentencing reinforces the principle that no one is above the law.

The investigation revealed that Carr conducted arraignment hearings without a prosecutor present and made false statements in the court’s records between May 2019 and June 2020.

Carr gained recognition for her involvement in the high-profile capital murder case of serial killer Anthony Sowell in 2011. As an assistant county prosecutor, she played a role in convicting Sowell, who was sentenced to death row. However, Sowell passed away in prison in 2021 before his execution.

During her tenure as a judge, Carr made headlines for her unconventional punishments, such as sentencing a woman to hold an “idiot” sign for driving around a stopped school bus. In 2015, a 3News Investigates report revealed that these sentences were illegal, marking the beginning of a series of incidents that caused frustration within local and statewide legal circles.

In October of the previous year, the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Carr indefinitely after an investigation found that she acted inappropriately as a judge. She was accused of ordering parties to appear in person rather than remotely during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and sending a defendant to jail for 15 days for allegedly rolling their eyes and cursing while in custody.

Following the suspension of her law license, Carr ultimately resigned from her position. Former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Mark Majer was appointed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine to replace her. During the recent proceedings, Carr’s attorney acknowledged that she may never regain her law license.

 

Source: WKYC.com