Panel finds no fault with Black ad

11/5/2002

COLUMBUS - A three-judge Ohio Court of Appeals panel, sitting in Akron, yesterday recommended that a complaint filed against Hamilton County Municipal Judge Tim Black, candidate for Ohio Supreme Court, be dismissed.

The complaint had alleged that his TV ad did not clearly identify which court he sits on and attempted to pass off local bar ratings for his 1999 re-election bid as being for this race.

Two of three challenges filed against candidates for the high court have been dismissed. Last week, a different panel recommended possible sanctions against Judge Black's Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Maureen O'Connor, for appearing in a judicial robe in her ad when she has not been a sitting judge since 1995.

A separate complaint filed against Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Janet Burnside, running against incumbent Republican Justice Evelyn Stratton, was also recommended for dismissal last week.

The final decisions in all three cases will be made by a five-judge panel to be named by the chief justice of the Court of Appeals.