Four complaints added to judicial misconduct case again Stow Municipal Judge Kim Hoover
The Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel added four counts Tuesday to a state Board of Professional Conduct complaint against Judge Kim Hoover, bringing to 16 the number of individuals whose handling in Stow Municipal Court is being examined for potential judicial discipline.
In a complaint certified Dec. 6, Hoover is accused of using illegal and coercive tactics to force unrepresented criminal defendants to pay their fines and costs. Hoover denied violating judicial guidelines, telling the Beacon Journal he did not act improperly and looked forward to a complete hearing on the issues.
The new counts, the amended complaint shows, include allegations that Hoover has continued to employ such tactics since the December filing.
Lima attorney Robert B. Fitzgerald, 5th District Court of Appeals Judge John W. Wise and retired Lake County Judge Joseph Gibson have been appointed to serve on a three-member Board of Professional Conduct panel to hear the complaint against Hoover.
A formal hearing had been scheduled for July.
What's next
Hoover now has until June 13 to respond to the amended complaint, and the formal hearing has been scheduled for Sept. 19-21 in Canton.
If Hoover is found in violation, the minimum penalty would be a public reprimand and the maximum punishment would be permanent disbarment, according to Joseph Caligiuri, disciplinary counsel for the Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel. Potential intermediate penalties are six-month, 12-month, 18-month, two-year, or indefinite suspension of his law license. Those suspensions could be stayed, but any enforced suspension would prohibit judicial practice for the duration of the time the license is withheld. An attorney who is permanently disbarred cannot serve as a judge under Ohio rules.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Stow Judge Kim Hoover faces further scrutiny of conduct on bench
