Judge Berling

From the article:

A letter last month from the other judges to the supreme court's office of disciplinary counsel reported that Judge Berling is "very mentally ill" and asked for the assistance of the High Court.

The letter, which was obtained by The Blade, states "To varying degrees … we have witnessed behavior that causes us to fear for the physical and mental safety not only of ourselves, but, more importantly, of the employees over whom we have responsibility."

Read that article, a very strange situation unfolding

Whoa...this is highly unusual.

Not an insider there, but wifey has been a law clerk and I know from her how protective judges usually are...not only of fellow judges, but also staff who work for them. For a group of colleagues to appeal to the Supreme Court for help is......well......whoa.....

Nobody usually speaks badly or publicly about any judge's problems in the courthouse, so something major must have happened or a series of events must be piling up.

Whatever the case, if true, I hope this lady can receive help.

Couldn't this have serious consequences if the Supreme Court finds her mentally incompetent (if they even have the authority to do that, I have no idea)? Wouldn't all of her cases have to be re-examined? And for them to say they fear for their physical safety... wow that is really bad.

I've known her for over 50 years. Her folks and brother too. I wish Amy well.There is a serious problem here. On another note, why is it that blue collar people in Toledo have to pass drug/alcohol screens before they can get a job shoveling shit for the police horses, and EVERYONE in in any sort of elected position a COMPLETE fess Pass? This is a bunch of unmitigated bullshit!!!! From the Mayor down to the dog catcher. These two folks do a good job, and I'm sure they could pass any test. I'm just saying.

There have been several local judges over the years that have had substance abuse problems, that completely turned their lives around.

Dammit-I'm really bummed out now. She used to help me brief cases when we were in law school. I wish to hell I hadn't turned the computer on today.

Maybe she just missed the judge's golf outing and this is payback?

Wulf you should be judged by job performance not by the chemical composition of your pee. If you are doing a bad job sober or not you need to GTFO.

That article seems to show some sort of power struggle between her and the other judges, the mental health thing looks like the only way the other judges could get any action from the supreme court.

"Wulf you should be judged by job performance not by the chemical composition of your pee. If you are doing a bad job sober or not you need to GTFO.

! posted by dbw8906 on Mar 02, 2012 at 12:21:16 pm # + 2 people liked this ' "

dbw8906, Suppose you were on trial, for felony murder. You were also falsely accused. You get convicted, by a judge who had an assortment of controlled substances in his pee, yet appeared to be doing a good job. Would you then seat yourself in the electric chair, secure in knowing you still got a fair trial?

For your scenario to work you would also need to ban alcohol. More judges and lawyers are drunk out of their mind than you would ever guess.

Actually dbw, I’ve always heard that marijuana is a judge’s poison of choice…

Clearly an opinion from NotJustRhetoric is needed here. How about it, Ace? What's the substance of choice for the average legal beagle?

Clearly an opinion from NotJustRhetoric is needed here. How about it, Ace? What's the substance of choice for the average legal beagle?

Bourbon. And Alka-Seltzer.

"The letter, which was obtained by The Blade, states "To varying degrees … we have witnessed behavior that causes us to fear for the physical and mental safety not only of ourselves, but, more importantly, of the employees over whom we have responsibility."

The letter is titled a "grievance supplement" and was a follow-up to a Feb. 15 letter from the six judges to the office of disciplinary counsel. None of the municipal court judges contacted by The Blade would comment on the letter, citing judicial rules prohibiting them from discussing it or even confirming its existence."

Anyone notice the "Blaid" didn't say HOW the letter was obtained? Word is, it was removed from a CONFIDENTAL file, and delivered to them.

Back in the news...

Grievances on bench to cross into ballot box

Judge Robert Christiansen, who is in the first year of a six-year term on the municipal court bench, said on Thursday that he plans to run against Judge Berling in the November, 2013, election in an attempt to knock her off the bench.

"I want to defeat her," Judge Christiansen said. "I don't think she should be a judge."

Judge Christiansen said he would reveal a list of reasons Judge Berling should not be a judge during a news conference in November, after the general election.

This saga would be comical IF IT DIDN'T INVOLVE MEMBERS OF OUR JUDICIARY. Judge Berling and Christiansen should be ashamed of themselves - neither is free of responsibility for the problems in the letter, or the other problems members of the bar and the general public see in their courtrooms.

I prowled the halls of justice for more years than I wish to recall and never encountered anything this strange. It would befit a three stooges movie. Christiansen should support another candidate for her job, or resign his position if he wants to run for it.

The last time Christiansen shot his mouth off against her, it cost him a job on the Court of Appeals. Lateral moves(or losses)are the only options left for him. And about letting us know his "reasons" AFTER the election---what's that about? My guess is the "reasons" are an assortment of hogwash that will stick to those who support him. In my honest opinion, there is no shame attached to being defeated in a particular endeavor. The shame attaches in not knowing when to quit. Perhaps Judge Berlings' opponent should get a horse and suit of armor, and look for a windmill to get rid of. Particularly since she isn't going anywhere next year, except to her courtroom.

I love it when conservatives say how much better things would be if the Republicans ran things in Toledo but when you look at the two things they control - BOE and the courts - I just shake my head.

How many, and who, are the Republicans that run the courts?

What do you shake when you look at the things that the democrats have controlled for decades?

I have a very bad feeling about how this is going to end.