A retired and visiting Lucas County Common Pleas Court judge denied a defense motion asking the judge to recuse himself from a murder case because of a perceived conflict of interest in his personal life.
Defense attorney Ronnie Wingate filed a motion for retired Judge James Bates to be disqualified from his client’s murder case. Judge Bates is married to Lucas County Prosecutor Julia Bates, Mr. Wingate noted in his motion last week.
The motion comes after Judge Bates declined Feb. 11 to accept a plea for Devon Hands Jr. Mr. Hands, who was initially charged in juvenile court, is accused of fatally shooting his cousin, Ta Tyana Hamilton, 26, during a graduation party on May 29, 2019.
Judge Bates also declined to step down from the case, according to his judgment entry filed in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on Monday.
Judge Bates, who retired nearly two years ago, was assigned to fill the vacancy after Judge Myron Duhart was elected to the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals.
Even though Judge Bates is now retired, he’s still married to the prosecutor and Mr. Wingate said there’s a “perceived conflict of interest.”
Mr. Hands was not provided precautionary measures that Judge Bates previously gave defendants during his tenure on the bench, Mr. Wingate said. Judge Bates made sure defendants agreed he could proceed with the case, given his marriage.
Judge Bates denied Mr. Wingate’s motion, referencing a series of Ohio Supreme Court cases that referenced similar issues.
According to the high court rulings, a judge’s relation to a prosecuting attorney does not by itself disqualify that judge from hearing a case, nor is a judge disqualified because a government attorney practices with the judge’s spouse — as long as the spouse does not appear in the case, Judge Bates noted.
He finally referenced a Supreme Court case involving his oversight in a case in which he presided over two counts of aggravated murder. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor ruled there was no conflict between the judge and spouse prosecutor, and a judge doesn’t need to file a remittal form because it was not required by any statute or rule, according to Judge Bates’ ruling.
In the judgment entry, Judge Bates also noted that Eric Marks, appointed Friday by Gov. Mike DeWine as Judge Duhart’s permanent successor, will take over the case at some point after being seated next Monday.
Mr. Hands is expected to appear before Judge Bates again Thursday.
Judge Bates said Feb. 11 he would not accept the plea offer for Mr. Hands’ case. In December, 2019, Mr. Hands was indicted on charges of murder and felonious assault with attached gun specifications.
Mr. Hands accepted a plea agreement, entering a plea to involuntary manslaughter with no gun specification. The remaining charge and gun specification would be dismissed at sentencing.
Because the case originated in juvenile court when Mr. Hands was 17, the case would go back to juvenile court for sentencing if there was no gun specification, Judge Bates explained.
In juvenile court, the now 19-year-old could face a maximum penalty of serving until age 21 at the Ohio Department of Youth Services. He also faces lesser sanctions of serving time at the county’s Youth Treatment Center or being placed on community control.
If he’s sentenced in the general division, he would face an indefinite sentence as the first-degree felony falls under Reagan Tokes’ Law, and a mandatory three-year sentence for the firearm specification.
First Published February 23, 2021, 2:00 p.m.
