COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State Supreme Court has announced that a longtime Cuyahoga County judge has been suspended.
In a unanimous decision on Friday, the court announced that Judge Daniel Gaul has been suspended from the practice of law for one year and suspended from judicial office without pay for the same period of time.
The suspension comes as Gaul committed 29 rule violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct.
According to the Ohio Supreme Court, Gaul coerced no-contest pleas, abandoned his role as an impartial arbiter, demeaned litigants and spectators in his courtroom, abused his contempt power to avenge a minor slight against him and abused the prestige of his judicial office to advance the personal interests of a litigant in a federal case who had appeared in his courtroom on a related matter.
"Rather than promoting confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, Gaul’s conduct has called those essential elements of our justice system into question while harming multiple litigants," said Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy in the opinion.
The opinion noted instances where Gaul referred to Black defendants as "brother," including the case of Demagio Callahan, who Gaul said he remembered because he had “an Italian first name, an Irish last name, but he’s a brother.” Additionally, Gaul also found a defendant in contempt and ordered him to serve 30 days in jail after the two got into an argument during a Zoom hearing.
Gaul has been licensed to practice law since 1981 and has served as a Common Pleas Court of Cuyahoga County judge since 1991. In 2010, Gaul was hit with a six-month suspension by the Ohio Supreme Court for misconduct during a criminal trial.
In Dec. 2022, the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct submitted a recommendation to the Ohio Supreme Court for Gaul to be suspended from practicing law and serving on the bench for one year due to the alleged instances of misconduct over five years.
The full opinion from the Ohio Supreme Court can be read below:
3News has reached out to the Cuyahoga County Courts for a statement, but has not yet heard back.