COLUMBUS, Ohio — An attorney representing Geauga County Juvenile Probate Court Judge Timothy J. Grendell argued his client should remain on the bench during a scheduled hearing before the Supreme Court of Ohio Thursday morning.
The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct recommended Grendell be immediately suspended from the practice of law, without pay, with six months stayed, last October.
RELATED: Geauga Co. Judge Timothy Grendell will appeal recommendation to suspend him from the bench
The board issued its recommendation after finding Grendell "engaged in professional misconduct" related to three different incidents, including a case involving two teenage brothers who were jailed for refusing to visit their estranged dad.
Legal arguments
During the hearing, Grendell's attorney, Stephen Funk, argued that Grendell should not be disciplined by the state's top court because he did not engage in a pattern of misconduct.
"In reality, what we have is one case involving alleged errors of law, which we submit were not errors of law, but even if they were, they weren't willful errors of law," he said.
Joe Caligiuri, Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which investigated Grendell, said his office has never seen a case like the one involving Grendell.
"The respondent [Grendell] actually created, orchestrated, and fabricated trumped up unruly charges" against two teenage brothers in 2020, he said.
"The harm that the respondent caused to these two innocent, straight A students that had never been in trouble in their lives is staggering in this case," Caligiuri told the court.
Misconduct findings
News 5 Investigators were the first to report how Grendell locked up Carson and Conner Glasier, then 15 and 13, for three nights at the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Detention Center in June 2020 after they refused parenting time with their estranged father.
RELATED: Two teen brothers refused to see their dad. An Ohio judge locked them up
Grendell said he "placed two juveniles in temporary custody for being unruly" and said Ohio statute "specifically permitted such placement."
But after the disciplinary counsel's investigation and a 2024 hearing, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct came to a different conclusion.
In its report, which was released last October, it found Grendell's claim that detaining the boys was "in their best interest" was "patently facetious" and "contrary to law."
The board also found Grendell engaged in misconduct during an ongoing dispute with Geauga County Auditor Chuck Walder and other county officials about his court's bills and expenses.
Additionally, the board determined Grendell violated Ohio's code of judicial conduct when he testified in support of legislation that was introduced by his wife, former Ohio Rep. Diane Grendell, in 2020 about COVID-19 statistics.
During the hearing, Funk said Grendell's actions during those incidents were protected by the First Amendment.
During his questioning of each attorney, Justice Patrick DeWine (R) appeared to agree with Funk's First Amendment argument.
Funk also argued that courts had previously been unwilling to discipline judges based on their actions in a single case.
"A number of courts throughout the country have reached the same conclusion, which is that unless there's a pattern of a willful failure to follow the law, we're not going to discipline a judge because they made a mistake in one case," Funk said.
It will likely take months for the judges to decide whether to suspend Grendell.
In the meantime, Grendell remains on the bench.
