On Tuesday, June 2, 2026, the Supreme Court of Ohio suspended former Montgomery County Judge Richard Skelton from practicing law for one year, with six months stayed, for illegally arranging the early release of an acquaintance’s son from prison.

Skelton, who served as a common pleas court judge from 2015 until his resignation in December 2024, resigned before his disciplinary hearing, with three years remaining on his term.

The court found that Skelton violated several rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the rules governing the professional conduct of Ohio attorneys. Over a two-year period, Skelton engaged in improper out-of-court communications with Aaron Cox and his mother, Shelly Overton, to facilitate Cox’s early release. Overton was a patient at a medical practice where Skelton also received care.

In August 2020, Cox pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery, felonious assault, and escape. His robbery charge stemmed from an incident in 2019 where he robbed a person at gunpoint. While in jail in 2020, Cox complained about his handcuffs to a sheriff’s deputy. When the deputy stopped to secure Cox properly, Cox pushed the deputy to the ground, jumped into the driver’s seat, and ran over the deputy’s arm while attempting to flee. These actions led to the felonious assault and escape charges. Cox’s case was before Judge Michael W. Krumholz, who sentenced Cox to an indefinite sentence of five to six years in prison.

As early as the day after Cox’s sentencing, Overton began communicating with Skelton via email, phone, and text message to discuss her son’s potential early release. Judge Krumholz announced his intention to retire in February 2022. Overton and Skelton discussed Krumholz’s retirement at one of Skelton’s medical appointments, and Skelton stated he would speak with the retiring judge about taking over Cox’s case. Skelton spoke with Judge Krumholz and his bailiff about transferring Cox’s case to Skelton’s docket, but the transfer did not occur at that time.

A month before Judge Krumholz’s retirement, Cox requested judicial release from him, but the judge did not act on the motion before retiring. All of the judge’s cases were initially assigned to a visiting judge, who denied Cox’s release request. Overton then contacted Skelton, and after exchanging messages, Skelton informed her that Cox could file again for early release. Skelton received information about Cox’s case from Overton.

Judge Kimberly Melnick was appointed as Judge Krumholz’s successor. Before her appointment, an order was submitted to the administrative judge, Timothy O’Connell, directing Cox’s case to be transferred to Skelton’s docket. Although it was unclear who submitted the order, the administrative judge signed it.

Once Skelton took over the case, he directed that Cox be transferred from a state prison to the Montgomery County jail. Skelton sent Overton a text message stating that Cox was to appear in his court and that they would talk, instructing her not to tell Cox he was being released. A manager in the court’s pretrial release program questioned Skelton about the order to move Cox, but Skelton indicated he did not need assistance as he intended to release Cox.

Skelton also informed an assistant prosecutor assigned to Cox’s case that he was considering releasing Cox early. Skelton spoke with Cox in court without inviting Cox’s attorney or informing the prosecutor. When the prosecutor learned of Skelton’s intention to release Cox, she notified the court of the prosecution’s opposition.

At the time Skelton was considering releasing Cox, state law required a hearing before granting release, and prohibited a person with a first-degree felony conviction, like Cox, from being eligible for release unless the trial court made specific findings on the record. Cox and the prosecutor appeared before Skelton, but he did not conduct a hearing or make any findings. He announced Cox’s release over the prosecution’s objection, stating, “Report indicating he’s eligible.” A probation officer’s report found Cox was not eligible for release.

The prosecutor’s office appealed the judicial release. After learning of the circumstances, Judge O’Connell assigned Cox’s case to another judge while the appeal was pending. O’Connell and another judge spoke to Skelton about his conduct and encouraged him to report his violations to disciplinary authorities. Skelton did not report the violations, and the judges filed a grievance against him.

While the appeal was pending, Cox violated his probation, and the presiding judge ordered him imprisoned for the remainder of his original sentence. In 2025, the disciplinary counsel filed a complaint against Skelton. The board found Skelton violated rules by abusing his office, engaging in impermissible ex parte communications, and independently investigating facts.

The board noted Skelton “engaged in brazen and persistent ex parte communications with Overton and Cox about Cox’s criminal case,” using the information for his own investigation and disregarding random assignment procedures. The Supreme Court highlighted that random assignment aims to “maintain public confidence in the judicial system by ensuring that cases are assigned impartially.”

The board recommended a fully stayed, one-year suspension for Skelton. However, the Supreme Court found the nature and scope of Skelton’s misconduct warranted a harsher sanction. His one-year suspension includes six months stayed, conditioned on no further misconduct. He was also ordered to pay the costs of the disciplinary proceedings.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.