Audio files shed light on judge's conduct

TIFFIN — Though the case is still awaiting a verdict, courtroom audio files confirm many of the claims against Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court Judge Mark E. Repp made by both the Seneca County Prosecutor and the Disciplinary Counsel of the Supreme Court of Ohio. This week, The Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune acquired courtroom audio files from two previous cases relating to the disciplinary counsel grievance against Repp. In March 2020, Repp presided over several cases, the first against Paul L. Compliment, who'd been charged with an OVI and a prohibited blood alcohol content. The next case to be heard was that of Trevor Danner, whose girlfriend, 20-year-old Alexzandria Orta, was sitting in the courtroom to observe. During Compliment's hearing, Repp made several direct comments to Orta, despite her making no disturbance in the courtroom and not being on trial or probation. Compliment was drug tested partway through the hearing and tested clean. In the audio file for the Compliment case, Repp can be heard saying, "At least we know that dope isn't part of your issue. Right, Ms. Orta? It's always a bad thing." After Compliment said he had never done drugs, Repp continued, "That's good. I wish all of us could say that. Right, Ms. Orta?" Orta never faced any previous drug-related charges. She did not respond to the judge's comments. Danner's hearing took place after Compliment's. Danner faced three misdemeanor charges, ranging from having fictitious plates to driving on a suspended license. He pleaded no contest to all three charges. In the audio file, Repp consistently refers to Danner as "Trev." "So, Trev, where you been, man? I keep on looking for you in PIVOT," Repp said. Danner replied that PIVOT, the Tiffin-Seneca County drug court, had been too strict for him to keep up with. Repp continued: "You're an institutional kind of guy, right? Hey, is it true, I heard that you overdosed a couple weeks ago." Danner replied that he had not overdosed. "Oh, was it Alexzandria that overdosed? Somebody did," Repp said, referencing Orta. Later in the hearing, after sentencing Danner, Repp suggested Orta was "probably going to go to jail, too." About 45 minutes after Orta arrived in the courtroom, Repp ordered that she be drug tested, despite having no evidence that she was under the influence and despite the fact that she made no disturbance in the courtroom. When Orta refused, Repp sentenced her to 10 days in jail for contempt. In Seneca County Prosecutor Derek DeVine's affidavit against Repp, he alleged that two Seneca County assistant prosecutors had heard Repp say "I like sending people to jail" because it excited him. In the original grievance that Disciplinary Counsel Joseph Caliguiri filed against Repp in December, he wrote that Repp had violated three sections of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct and one section of the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. The codes in question require judges to act with integrity, impartiality, fairness, patience, dignity and courtesy, in a manner that promotes public confidence in the judiciary. Similar, but different All three sections of judicial code that Repp admitted to violating were the same sections violated by Hamilton County Judge Michael Bachman, who faced a similar disciplinary case in 2020. In Disciplinary Counsel v. Bachman, Caliguiri alleged that Bachman engaged in judicial misconduct in an incident involving a woman who disrupted a trial by screaming in the hallway. The woman was upset that she missed the filing deadline for a civil protection order, and yelled in frustration. Bachman left the bench to find her, brought her to the courtroom and held her in contempt of court. Originally, he sentenced her to three days in jail, but when she protested, he changed it to ten days. The scream was captured on the audio system and recorded during the trial. Video recordings also show Bachman grabbing the woman by her neck and shoulder and firmly redirecting her to the jury box. "If you open your mouth one more time, you're adding on to your misery, ma'am," Bachman can be heard saying in the video. Two days after the incident, the presiding judge of the court saw the footage and ordered for the woman's release. Four days after that, Bachman was informed that the other judges knew what he did and thought he should be let go. Bachman resigned six days after the incident. At his disciplinary hearing, he testified that he submitted his resignation after being told that if he resigned, "this would be quiet and that would be it." The case resulted in a suspension without stay, as the board found that Bachman demonstrated "a clear lack of patience, dignity, and courtesy, created the impression that he was not impartial, and effectively undermined the public's confidence in the impartiality of the jury." The board believed that a stayed suspension was not commensurate with the judicial misconduct in Bachman's case. "I think it was a fair and equitable resolution to a very serious case," Caliguiri said. In another similar case — Disciplinary Counsel v. Parker — the judge received an 18 month suspension with six months stayed for multiple instances of misconduct, one of which involved jailing a courtroom spectator for contempt without cause. After the case, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that "when a judicial officer's misconduct causes harm in the form of incarceration, that abuse of the public trust warrants an actual suspension from the practice of law." Caliguiri noted that Bachman had expressed no remorse for his actions, similar to Repp. Bachman also received only one isolated complaint of misconduct. Though his current disciplinary case only relates to Orta's compaint, Repp has been accused of bias and making disparaging remarks multiple times before. In 2002, Attorney John Kahler II sued Repp for making "disparaging remarks" about him. Repp said then that Kahler had already filed paperwork against him twice before. The court ruled in Repp's favor. In 2015, Kahler filed an affidavit to disqualify Repp from presiding over a specific case for making "biased comments"; the affidavit was denied by the Supreme Court of Ohio. In 2016, Rodney Geren filed action, claiming Repp denied his motion for counsel. Geren said Repp became angry when he asked for a lawyer, and said he'd set a higher bond if Geren kept asking. And in 2020, Debra Heimberger filed a civil complaint claiming Repp required her to pay a traffic fine without letting her present a defense on her inability to pay it. In court documents, she is quoted saying he pressured her to use her disability benefit payments to pay the fine. Heimberger's complaint was dismissed. What comes next Caliguiri said that the wait time for a decision in disciplinary cases "really does vary," and that he isn't sure when the verdict in Repp's case would be available. In the Bachman case, which was filed in December 2019, a panel decision came in June 2020, with the final Supreme Court decision revealed in December 2020. Repp said last week he also isn't sure when the decision would come back, and he chose not to comment on the case. "That's why I have lawyers," Repp said. "That's why I'm in the pickle that I'm in." Repp's lawyer did not respond to phone messages left this week and last week.