State of Ohio V. Hunter
CASE NUMBER B1400110, B1400199
CHARGE(S): Tampering with Evidence, a third degree felony, Forgery, a fifth degree felony, Tampering with Evidence, a third degree felony, Forgery, a fifth degree felony, having an Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract, a fourth degree felony, having Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract, a fourth degree felony, Theft in Office, a fifth degree felony, and Misuse of a Credit Card, a fifth degree felony.
POTENTIAL PUNISHMENT: 13 years in the Ohio Department of Corrections, loss of Judgeship
VENUE: Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas, Cincinnati, Ohio
ALLEGATIONS: The criminal case against the Honorable Judge Tracey M. Hunter was a politically charged, highly contested case of statewide and national interest. The case was covered nationally gavel to gavel and characterized by some as the "trial of the decade in Cincinnati." Judge Hunter, the first African-American elected Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge, after winning a controversial highly contested litigated election, was accused of back-dating judge's sheets to give defense attorneys an advantage and the prosecution a disadvantage over juvenile court cases, inappropriately, without consent, using a county credit card to pay for legal filings and improperly interjecting herself as a juvenile court judge into the firing of her brother, a juvenile court employee.
DISPOSITION: Prior to trial, Mr. Bennett researched, prepared and argued the following pretrial motions: Motion to Dismiss Indictment on the Grounds of Prosecutorial Misconduct, Prosecutorial Vindictiveness, Selective Prosecution and an Un-remediable Conflict of Interest; Motion for Change of Venue (Transfer of case to another county because fair and impartial trail could not be had in Hamilton County, Ohio); Motion for Judgment of Acquittal, Post Trial Judgment of Acquittal on Count Six of the Indictment the lone charge the jury convicted Judge Hunter of committing; Motion for New Trial based on court's failure to poll jury after guilty verdict was announced in open Court, and, Motion for New Trial based on Juror Misconduct (failure of juror to disclose information on the juror questionnaire and in voir dior.)
DISPOSITION: A six week jury trial including 21 witnesses and 400 exhibits.
RESULT: The jury deadlocked on 8 of 9 counts: Tampering with Evidence, Forgery, Tampering with Evidence, Forgery, Having an Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract, Misuse of a Credit Card and Theft. Judge Hunter was found guilty of one count of Having an Unlawful Interest in a Public Contract, however, after publication of the lone guilty verdict, three of the twelve jurors came forward and stated that their true verdict was not "guilty" but that of "not guilty." The lone guilty verdict was appealed and the sentence was stayed.
