Opinion
No. 20-AP-007
02-24-2020
IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF KNECE. Teays Valley Local School District Board of Education v. Struckman.
{¶ 1} Defendant Michael E. Struckman has filed an affidavit pursuant to R.C. 2701.03 seeking to disqualify Judge P. Randall Knece from the above-referenced case and all other cases in which Mr. Struckman appears as a party.
{¶ 2} Mr. Struckman avers that Judge Knece is personally biased against him. According to Mr. Struckman, the alleged bias arose in 2005 when he requested Judge Knece's recusal from a case involving Mr. Struckman in which the judge had a conflict of interest. Mr. Struckman believes that since then, Judge Knece has issued biased and improper rulings in various cases involving Mr. Struckman. For example, he asserts that Judge Knece demonstrated bias in the underlying case by staying discovery for over two years, issuing premature rulings, and refusing to allow Mr. Struckman to amend his pleadings. He also alleges that Judge Knece displayed hostility toward him and his attorney at a December 2019 hearing. Finally, Mr. Struckman asserts that Judge Knece's refusal to appoint him to the county veteran-services commission—despite his nomination by a local Marine Corps league—further demonstrates the judge's dislike of him. To support his allegations, Mr. Struckman submitted an affidavit from his attorney, Andrew C. Clark.
{¶ 3} Judge Knece filed a response to the affidavit and denies harboring any bias against Mr. Struckman. According to the judge, he has no recollection of Mr. Struckman requesting his recusal in the 2005 case, and the docket in that matter does not indicate that Mr. Struckman made any such request. The judge further explains some of his rulings challenged in Mr. Struckman's affidavit and states that he selected the person he considered most qualified for the veteran-services commission.
{¶ 4} The gravamen of Mr. Struckman's affidavit is his dissatisfaction with Judge Knece's rulings in Mr. Struckman's cases, especially the judge's refusal to allow him to amend his pleadings in the underlying matter. But it is well-settled that "affidavits of disqualification cannot be used to remove a judge from a case simply because a party is particularly unhappy about a court ruling or a series of rulings." In re Disqualification of D'Apolito , 139 Ohio St.3d 1230, 2014-Ohio-2153, 11 N.E.3d 279, ¶ 5. Appellate courts may review—and, if necessary, correct—rulings made by trial courts, but reviewing alleged legal errors is not the chief justice's role in deciding affidavits of disqualification. Id. Therefore, a party's disagreement with a judge's rulings generally cannot supply the evidence necessary to establish that a judge is biased or prejudiced. Id. {¶ 5} And although it is true that "a judge could be disqualified if his or her adverse rulings were accompanied by words or conduct that call into question the manner in which the proceedings are being conducted," In re Disqualification of Knece , 138 Ohio St.3d 1274, 2014-Ohio-1414, 7 N.E.3d 1213, ¶ 10, Mr. Struckman has not sufficiently demonstrated that Judge Knece's language or conduct evidence a hostile feeling or spirit of ill will toward him. Indeed, contrary to Mr. Struckman's allegation, the transcript of the December 2019 hearing does not support his argument that the judge was unprofessional or hostile to him. Nor does the fact that Judge Knece decided against appointing Mr. Struckman to the veteran-services commission support a conclusion that the judge is biased against him. Based on this record, Mr. Struckman has not established that he is entitled to a blanket order of disqualification removing Judge Knece from the underlying case and all other cases involving Mr. Struckman. See In re Disqualification of Hoover , 113 Ohio St.3d 1233, 2006-Ohio-7234, 863 N.E.2d 634, ¶ 8 (disqualifying a judge from all of an attorney's cases when the judge held a fixed and longstanding resentment toward the attorney, which would have caused a reasonable and objective observer to question whether the judge could sit fairly and impartially on cases involving that attorney).
{¶ 6} The affidavit of disqualification is denied. The case may proceed before Judge Knece.