COLUMBUS, Ohio — The longest-serving Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge is facing possible suspension after a recommendation by the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct (OBPC).
In a filing submitted to the Ohio Supreme Court on Friday, the OBPC recommended that Judge Daniel Gaul be suspended from practicing law and serving on the bench for one year due to 27 alleged instances of misconduct during eight cases over a five-year span.
A hearing for Gaul by the OBPC was held on September 27. The judge had initially denied any wrongdoing, but later stipulated to committing a total of ten violations, including coercing pleas in a pair of criminal cases.
The OBPC also 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.” The panel found that Gaul also made demeaning remarks about a Cleveland police officer during a case where his wife was filing for a restraining order against his girlfriend, also an officer at the time. Additionally, Gaul also found a defendant in contempt and ordered him to serve 30 days after the two got into an argument during a Zoom hearing.
Gaul has held a license 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.
"We support the Board’s recommendation which calls for accountability for the misconduct and will await the final determination by the Supreme Court of Ohio which represents the final step in the disciplinary process," said Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association President Adrian D. Thompson in a statement. "The public deserves to be served by judges and lawyers who conduct themselves in a manner consistent with Ohio’s Rules of Professional Conduct and Code of Judicial Conduct since a competent judiciary characterized by integrity is central to the rule of law. Fortunately, the vast majority of members of the legal profession – judges and lawyers – act professionally and ethically."
In October, the Ohio Supreme Court indefinitely suspended Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr for multiple behavioral violations. The court said Carr conducted business "in a manner benefitting a game show host rather than a judge of the Cleveland Municipal Court."