CLEVELAND — A former Cleveland Municipal Court judge who left her role amid a cloud of controversy is now facing criminal charges.
3News has confirmed Pinkey Carr has been accused of three counts of misdemeanor falsification in the very court she once presided over. According to records provided by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost's office, the allegations stem from three instances where Carr is said to have willfully signed inaccurate statements related to her duties on the bench.
The incidents in question occurred between May of 2019 and June of 2020. In all three cases, authorities contend Carr conducted arraignment hearings without city prosecutors present and amend charges against the defendants on her own, on one occasion even dropping at least one charge altogether. Each time, she signed an order containing the statement "Prosecutor Amends Charge," despite officials saying this was not the case.
Carr has long been a source of aggravation in both local and statewide legal circles, and this past October the Ohio Supreme Court suspended her indefinitely following an investigation that found she acted "in a manner benefitting a game show host rather than a judge." Among other things, the 57-year-old was found to have ordered relevant parties to appear at hearings in person rather than remotely during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, along with sending a defendant to jail for 15 days after they apparently rolled their eyes in court and cursed in lockup.
Though she could have applied for reinstatement, Carr instead chose to officially resign her post, with Gov. Mike DeWine appointing former Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Mark Majer to her seat in February. Majer is currently running for a full term in the 2023 election.
Per the court's docket, Carr is scheduled to appear before Administrative Judge Michelle D. Earley on Aug. 8 at 8:30 a.m. Each first-degree misdemeanor charge against her carries a maximum penalty of 180 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.