Opinion
No. 20-AP-012
02-07-2020
IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF SWEENEY. The State of Ohio v. Kozic.
{¶ 1} Defendant Zoltan Kozic has filed an affidavit pursuant to R.C. 2701.03 seeking to disqualify Judge Maureen Ann Sweeney from the above-referenced case.
{¶ 2} The chief justice's statutory authority to disqualify judges extends only to those matters in which "a proceeding [is] pending before the court." R.C. 2701.03(A). "[T]he chief justice cannot rule on an affidavit of disqualification when * * * nothing is pending before the * * * court." In re Disqualification of Hayes , 135 Ohio St.3d 1221, 2012-Ohio-6306, 985 N.E.2d 501, ¶ 6. Here, Mr. Kozic has failed to identify what, if anything, remains pending before Judge Sweeney. In an unsworn memorandum attached to his affidavit, Mr. Kozic stated that he intends to file a motion for judicial release in April 2020. But according to the trial-court docket, Judge Sweeney resentenced him in 2018 and no motions or filings are currently pending before her. On this record, there is no statutory or practical basis to order Judge Sweeney's disqualification from a seemingly inactive case. See, e.g. , In re Disqualification of Selvaggio , 156 Ohio St.3d 1301, 2019-Ohio-1826, 128 N.E.3d 264, ¶ 4 ("The chief justice will not decide an affidavit of disqualification based merely on the possibility of a remand from the court of appeals").
{¶ 3} The affidavit of disqualification is dismissed.