COLUMBUS, Ohio — After months of delays, Geauga County Probate and Juvenile Court Judge Timothy Grendell’s disciplinary hearing before Ohio’s Board of Professional Conduct began in Columbus Monday morning.
The judge faces three charges following an investigation by the Ohio Supreme Court Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC). The fourth charge was dismissed before the proceedings began today.
The first charge involves the subjects of a News 5 Investigation. Grendell jailed two teenage brothers during the pandemic for refusing to see their father.
The second charge accuses Grendell of abusing his office during a dispute with the Geauga County auditor.
The third charge relates to his testimony at the state legislature in support of a bill sponsored by his wife, former Ohio Rep. Diane Grendell (R-District 76.)
The charge that was dismissed involves a different custody case and alleges Grendell threatened to charge a mother with contempt of court after she had her child tested for COVID-19.
During opening statements, Joseph Caligiuri, disciplinary counsel, the Supreme Court of Ohio, said Grendell “ignored the law” when he detained the boys and described it as a “tragic, tragic case.”
He described Grendell’s actions concerned the county auditor as a “complete and blatant abuse of power” and his testimony in favor of his wife’s "Truth in COVID" Statistics bill as abusing his “prestige of office to advance wife’s interest.”
Grendell’s attorney, George Jonson, said, “There’s a lot of the rest of the story,” and that Grendell followed the law and state’s code of judicial conduct.
Juvenile injustice
Grendell is accused of misconduct in a custody case involving Carson and Conner Glasier, who refused visitation with their father, Grant Glasier after the brothers claimed he physically abused them.
In his response, Grendell’s blamed the boys’ mother, Stacy Hartman, citing a psychologist’s report that said, “the children have become seriously alienated from their father.”
On May 29, 2020, Grendell ordered Hartman to either hand over full custody to Glasier or submit to immediate and unsupervised visitation. Grendell also said the boys were prohibited from contacting their mother while in their father’s care.
According to the ODC complaint, Grendell didn’t directly order the boys to go with their father. Instead, he directed Hartman to do so.
Hartman dropped off the boys at the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, but the brothers continued to refuse time with their father.
According to the ODC complaint, “Despite (Hartman’s) instruction and encouragement, (the younger brother), who was crying, refused to go with his father.”
Instead of sending the boys home with their mother, Grendell then ordered the boys, then 13 and 15, to be jailed at the Portage-Geauga County Juvenile Detention Center in Ravenna.
The brothers were handcuffed and placed in the back of a Geauga County Sheriff’s Office vehicle.
In his response, Grendell said he never instructed his bailiff, John Ralph, to file charges and said Ralph filed unruly charges against the brothers.
The complaint notes what a News 5 Investigation uncovered about the case. Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz did not pursue unruly charges against the brothers.
In his response, Grendell said, “The boys were not placed in custody because they allegedly refused to go with their father during his court-ordered parenting time; but, rather, for their alleged ongoing disobedience of their mother.”
Hartman said she texted Ralph as he drove away with her children and offered to take their place.
During their incarceration, the complaint said Grendell ordered the brothers to be kept in isolation from each other, be physically checked every 15 minutes, and have no contact with anyone except their father, including their guardian ad litem.
The ODC said Glasier did not contact his sons while they were detained.
The brothers were released to their mother on June 1. When Hartman went to the court to apply for a court-appointed attorney to represent her in the juvenile proceedings, the court was closed. The ODC complaint said Grendell had closed at noon so he could testify in favor of his wife’s legislation, known as the “Truth in COVID Statistics” bill.
Grendell declined multiple requests for an on-camera interview with News 5 prior to the broadcast of the investigation into the brothers’ detention.
However, before the story was broadcast, Grendell returned Hartman’s case to the common pleas court and out of his jurisdiction.
The elder of the two brothers died in a traffic accident in May 2023, just weeks before Grendell’s misconduct hearing was originally scheduled to start.
After Grendell’s lawyer requested a delay, the hearing was postponed to October 2023.
Geauga County Auditor dispute
The second charge against Grendell relates to an ongoing dispute with Geauga County Auditor Charles Walder over how the court’s bills are paid.
It started with court filings, but eventually became so contentious police were called.
State law requires county expenses to be processed through the auditor’s office. County departments are required to send all invoices to the auditor as well as provide documentation related to the expense.
Grendell sought a court order asking for county funds to be released to him, alleging he has “inherent authority” over expenditures related to his court.
According to the complaint, some of the requests were for legitimate expenses, including attorney fees for residents unable to afford representation.
However, other expenses related to newspaper ads and robocalls about the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, Grendell paid for robocalls that described the court’s safety procedures and newspaper ads that described online estate planning programs available to residents so they could avoid probate court.
The auditor said it was misleading for Grendell to state “no tax dollars” were used. The money Grendell wanted for the ads was not from taxes, but it was from fees paid by taxpayers.
The ODC complaint describes how the dispute grew and ended up involving local law enforcement.
Walder had written Grendell that his staff members were so disrespectful that they were no longer welcome in his office. Despite the letter, staff members allegedly showed up again and took some county records with them.
That’s when the auditor’s staff called the Chardon Police Department. A police lieutenant convinced Grendell’s staff members to return the records and said they were not allowed to go to the auditor’s office.
The ODC complaint alleges that Grendell then located the lieutenant outside the courthouse and said he would issue a court order to allow his staff to continue to go to the auditor’s office.
The complaint alleges Grendell said to the lieutenant, “Anyone who interferes, including law enforcement, would beheld in contempt of court.”
Grendell’s response said, “At no time did (Grendell) threaten the officer.”
It said, “He (Grendell) merely explained to the officer about the nature of the dispute with he Auditor’s office and the potential consequences for violating Court orders.”
The Supreme Court of Ohio ultimately sided with Grendell about whether the auditor should pay the court’s expenses.
COVID-19 bill testimony
The third charge against Grendell concerns his testimony in support of his wife’s "Truth in COVID Statistics" bill.
The ODC complaint alleges that Grendell violated the judicial code of conduct during his testimony.
The complaint highlights judicial rules barring judges from appearing or consulting with executive or legislative bodies and from “abusing the prestige” of their office in an effort to "advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others.”
During his testimony, Grendell described his doubts about the accuracy of COVID-19 testing and a vaccine.
He also said the Ohio Department of Health had created an “atmosphere of fear” by sharing only negative information about the virus, including the number of cumulative cases, hospitalizations, and deaths “without contextual data.”
The ODC complaint said ODH did routinely release information that provided context, and Grendell's testimony was inaccurate.
Grendell’s response said judges are allowed to speak about the law when acting as a fiduciary and argued that he has a “fiduciary responsibility over wards of the Court” as probate judge.
COVID-19 custody case
The fourth charge against Grendell, which was dismissed, related to another custody case, involving the two children of Kimberly Page and Richard Sherrick.
The ODC complaint said Grendell issued an order prohibiting the children from being tested for COVID-19 without his consent.
It also stated that Grendell argued concerns over COVID-19 were being used to block visitation.
During a hearing in June 2020, the ODC said Grendell made inaccurate statements about the seriousness of the virus and called COVID-19 a “panic-demic.”
One of the children was admitted to Akron Children’s Hospital for emergency breathing treatments in September 2020.
After the hospital tested the child for COVID-19, Grendell ordered Ralph to “physically seize” both children.
The ODC complaint said that “Ralph went to ACH and physically removed (the child) from the hospital.”
A three-member panel of the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct is scheduled to hear the case on Monday and Tuesday, Feb. 27.
The panel is also scheduled for hearings from March 4-7.
Prior to his current role, Grendell served as a representative in the Ohio House from 2000 to 2004 and in the Ohio Senate from 2005 to 2011.
You can watch more about the case in the player below:
RELATED: Two teen brothers refused to see their dad. An Ohio judge locked them up during a pandemic
