On Wednesday, August 21, 2024, the Ohio Supreme Court publicly reprimanded Hamilton County Probate Court Judge Ralph Edward Winkler for making inappropriate comments about a pending case on social media.
The case is entitled “In the Matter of Judge Ralph Edward Winkler,” with case number 2023-032.
The reprimand stems from two comments Judge Winkler posted on Facebook in October 2022 regarding a long-running guardianship case involving an elderly woman diagnosed with dementia. According to court documents, Judge Winkler had been presiding over the case for several years and upheld a previous ruling in 2017 that required the woman’s former home be vacated and sold.
In October 2022, a family member involved in the case made a post on Facebook criticizing a probate court magistrate. Judge Winkler responded with two comments defending the court’s decision in the case and making claims about the well-being and care of the elderly woman. He stated the man was angry because the court had to intervene in his mother’s care, and that photos entered as evidence showed signs of elder abuse at her previous residence.
Within hours, Judge Winkler realized the comments were inappropriate and deleted them. He also handed control of his Facebook page over to staff to prevent further posts about pending cases. However, during disciplinary proceedings, Judge Winkler acknowledged the online statements regarding the family’s care of the elderly woman were factually incorrect, unsupported by the court record, and should not have been made given he was the presiding judge.
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled Judge Winkler’s actions violated judicial conduct rules prohibiting judges from making public comments that could reasonably be expected to affect the outcome or impair the fairness of a matter. They also found he failed to use restraint and exercise the care required by his position in commenting about a pending case without reviewing the full record. His comments also caused a court administrator to wrongly repeat the unsupported claims to a reporter.
As a result, the high court issued a public reprimand against Judge Winkler. While the misconduct was isolated, he committed multiple violations that harmed vulnerable victims involved in the guardianship proceedings. However, the justices believed recurrence was unlikely given his prompt corrective actions. Judge Winkler had also recused himself from the case and issued a public apology.
Judge Winkler has served as the Hamilton County Probate Court Judge since 2015 and was reelected in 2020. As Probate Judge, he presides over cases involving families, such as adoptions, estates, guardianships, and more.
A copy of the original filing can be found here.
