This story was updated to add new information.
The Ohio Supreme Court has ordered the immediate removal of longtime judge Kim Hoover from office.
The court announced Tuesday that Hoover also has been suspended from practicing law for 18 months, with six months stayed, in connection with accusations against the longtime judge in the way he collected court fines and fees.
In February 2023, the court’s Board of Professional Conduct recommended that Hoover be immediately barred from practicing law and suspended from his office without pay for two years. The board’s recommendation followed an investigation and September 2022 hearings after a series of complaints filed starting in December 2021 claiming that Hoover was using illegal and coercive tactics to recover court-ordered fees from defendants.
Hoover appealed this sentence, with oral arguments taking place before the Ohio Supreme Court on May 17, 2023. He had remained on the bench pending the outcome. Hoover would have been ineligible to run for judge again in 2025, when his term was to expire, because he turned 70 this year.
Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices Michael P. Donnelly, Melody Stewart, and Joseph T. Deters joined Tuesday’s opinion. Justice R. Patrick DeWine concurred in judgment only. Justice Jennifer Brunner did not participate in the case.
Hoover could not be reached for comment Tuesday. The preliminary opinion released by the court stated that Hoover “maintains that the evidence does not support the board’s findings that he treated defendants with a bias or prejudice” and noted his argument “that 16 out of the thousands of cases that he has presided over during his lengthy service as a judge do not demonstrate how he runs his courtroom.”
Rick Klinger, court administrator for the Stow Municipal Court, said the Ohio Supreme Court will make an appointment to fill Hoover’s unexpired term. The seat is up for election next year.
“In the short term, his caseload will be covered by Judge (Lisa) Coates and our staff of magistrates,” Klinger said.
Justices rule Kim Hoover coerced defendants to pay costs, fines
According to the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling, Hoover had unjustly imprisoned two defendants — one for four days and the other for seven days — and 14 defendants were coerced into paying costs and fines under threats of being sent to prison, which under Ohio law is illegal.
“Hoover’s overzealous collection of unsegregated fines and costs manifested a bias against those of lower socioeconomic status, a bias that … was readily apparent during his interactions with these defendants,” Tuesday’s ruling stated. “Hoover leaned into the idea of a debtors’ prison, unlawfully incarcerating or threating to incarcerate individuals for nonpayment of fines without due process, and unconstitutionally incarcerating or threatening to incarcerate individuals for nonpayment of court costs. And he routinely failed to inform the defendants of their right to counsel. In addition to harming the defendants, Hoover purposely involved the families of the defendants — innocent people — to extort money from them. The families of the defendants were not the wrongdoers, and Hoover’s endeavor to squeeze money from them so that they might keep their loved ones out of jail was reprehensible.”
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Aside from violations that cost Hoover his job, court notes judge’s ‘good character’
The ruling noted that the disciplinary board found Hoover did not have a disciplinary record, and that he “did not act with a dishonest or selfish motive, cooperated with disciplinary counsel, and submitted substantial evidence of good character” in his nearly 40 years as both a lawyer and a judge.
“The board recognized that Hoover has done great things for the Stow Municipal Court, many defendants, and the community,” the ruling stated. “But nonetheless, his good intentions and actions do not excuse his failure to comply with the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Rules of Professional Conduct. It found that Hoover’s casual attitude toward defendants and improper application of the law led to violations of defendants’ liberties and hindered the administration of justice.”
Anyone with active cases that had been on Hoover’s docket can call the Clerk of Courts office at 330-564-4174 with questions about how their judicial matters will proceed.
The Stow Municipal Court serves 16 communities in northern Summit County: Boston Heights, Boston Township, Cuyahoga Falls, Hudson, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Northfield, Northfield Center Township, Peninsula, Reminderville, Sagamore Hills, Silver Lake, Stow, Tallmadge, Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township. According to the Stow Municipal Court, it handles about 20,000 cases per year.
Additional penalties imposed on Kim Hoover
The Ohio Supreme Court suspended Hoover without pay from his judgeship for the duration of his disciplinary period. He must complete one credit hour of continuing legal education for each month, or portion of a month, of the suspension. He cannot be reinstated to practice law in the state until he complies with requirements established by the state Supreme Court.
The justices ordered that Hoover to pay $10,025 in court costs for the case within 90 days of the decision.
It is unclear whether Hoover would be barred from serving as an assigned, or visiting, judge. According to the 2023 Guidelines for Assignment of Judges, “a sitting or retired judge is ineligible for assignment when the judge was removed or suspended without reinstatement from service on any Ohio court…or resigned or retired from service on any Ohio court while a complaint was pending against the person.”
Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Ohio Supreme Court removes Stow Municipal Judge Kim Hoover from bench
