Signal Cleveland has produced a comprehensive voting guide for the Nov. 4 election for housing court. This is of particular relevance to all landlords, but in specific landlords from out of town or on the other side of the world. She is serious about LLC landlords coming into full compliance or faces fines and punishment.
Of particular note from Judge Scott:
How would you balance holding landlords who are not respecting housing codes or following laws accountable while also protecting tenants from unsafe conditions or having to move?
The Ohio Revised Codes, along with the Court’s local rules, allow it to impose sanctions that comply with the goals of the ORC’s community control (probation) sanctions. The purpose of community control is to correct bad behavior, prevent recidivism, and punish offenders. The primary goal of the Cleveland Housing Court is to correct code violations and create a continuous supply of safe, habitable, and affordable housing.
A majority of all criminal defendants adhere to the court’s community control orders. LLCs face high fines and up to five years of community control. LLCs cannot, by law, be placed in jail, UNLESS the City’s code enforcement prosecutors charge and file a criminal complaint against the LLC’s principal owner, who is NOT the newly required local agent in charge. Individual landlords and property owners under the ORC can face high fines, 180 days in jail per count, but no more than 18 months, and up to five years of community control. Only individual defendants can be incarcerated.
The Ohio Judicial Codes of Conduct and Ethics require judges and candidates to uphold the integrity, independence, and impartiality of the judiciary. A judicial candidate or judge who states they would never place someone in jail, whether during a campaign or on the bench, violates the principle of impartiality and the obligation to uphold the law by showing a prejudged, categorical stance against a potential judicial action, rather than committing to the fair and unbiased application of legal principles to specific facts. Therefore, I want to emphasize that I adjudicate every case that comes before me with independence and impartiality, in accordance with the judicial codes, without any outside influences, particularly from religious institutions.