CINCINNATI (AP) — A southwest Ohio juvenile court judge
accused of backdating court documents and misusing county credit cards
pleaded not guilty Friday to nine felony charges.
Judge Tracie
Hunter stood before Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Norbert Nadel and
listened as the charges were read and her attorney, Richard Blake of
Cleveland, told Nadel her plea before a standing-room-only courtroom.
Hunter, who had her fingerprints and mug shot taken Wednesday at the
Hamilton County Justice Center, remained free on her promise to return
for future court dates. The next hearing was set for March 4.
Hunter,
a Democrat, has indicated she believes she is being targeted for
political reasons. She didn’t comment while leaving the court, but a
supporter told reporters afterward the charges are for political
retaliation.
"These are trumped-up charges," said Bobby Hilton, a Cincinnati area civil rights activist with
the National Action Network.
She
was finally seated in 2012 after a prolonged legal battle over the
disputed 2010 juvenile judge election results. After her indictment last
week, Hunter, 47, suggested that there were opponents to her because of
changes she wants in juvenile court and because she is a black
Democrat.
Hilton said he thinks the case is more about politics than race.
"I think it’s simply Republican against Democrat," he said. "I think it’s right against
wrong."
The
Ohio Supreme Court disqualified her from hearing cases after her
indictment last week, and has appointed a retired judge to help handle
her caseload pending resolution of the charges against her. The state’s
high court had earlier held her in contempt for continuing to bar
newspaper reporters from hearings.
Her indictment on counts
including tampering with evidence, forgery and theft in office followed
an investigation by two special prosecutors prompted by a memo accusing
Hunter or someone in her office of backdating court documents in "a
conscious act of deception."
In a Sept. 13 memo to Hamilton County
Prosecutor Joe Deters, chief assistant prosecuting attorney Bill Breyer
wrote that the first case of backdating related to a July 23 oral
ruling by Hunter preventing prosecutors from introducing evidence at a
trial. Prosecutors had one week to appeal the written order. It wasn’t
filed until Aug. 22 but was backdated to appear as though it were filed
July 23, according to the memo, which cited an affidavit obtained from
the court’s software provider.
Another ruling was backdated by a week, the memo stated.
Hunter
also is accused of using her county-issued credit card to pay court
fees stemming from lawsuits against her and ordering that her brother —
who provided security for the court before he was fired — be paid
overtime.
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