On Wednesday, July 24, 2024, Judge Debra L. Boros filed a response in the Supreme Court of Ohio opposing a motion from Mark E. Dottore seeking an emergency stay of proceedings in an ongoing domestic relations case in Cuyahoga County.

In her 618-word response, Judge Boros argued that Dottore’s motion failed both procedurally and substantively and should be denied. She noted that the matter is before the Supreme Court as an appeal of Dottore seeking to overturn the Eighth District Court of Appeals’ denial of his petition for writs of mandamus and prohibition against Judge Boros.

Dottore had initially filed the petition in the Eighth District on July 19th regarding Judge Boros’ presiding over the case of Jason G. Jardine v. Crystal T. Jardine in Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court. However, Judge Boros pointed out that Dottore failed to properly file the petition in the name of the state and also did not seek alternative relief such as a stay of proceedings from the lower court as required. As a result, the Eighth District dismissed the petition, which Judge Boros argued was sufficient grounds for denial.

In his subsequent motion to the Supreme Court, Dottore requested an emergency stay of the entire underlying case or specifically the release of cell phone records. However, Judge Boros argued the motion is deficient because Dottore did not include necessary information regarding the bond or attach the lower court decision as required by Supreme Court rules for stay motions.

Furthermore, Judge Boros emphasized that Dottore did not attempt to obtain any stay from the Eighth District’s denial before filing the appeal. She argued the appeal before the Supreme Court is solely to review the lower court ruling, rather than interject into the domestic relations case merits.

Finally, Judge Boros asserted the facts do not warrant a stay as the cell phone records in question consist only of call logs without any content. She stated they were deemed relevant in the underlying matter and that Dottore is improperly using the motion to appeal the domestic case rather than the lower court decision. Accordingly, Judge Boros urged the Supreme Court to deny the emergency stay request.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.