CLEVELAND, Ohio -Former Bedford Municipal Court Judge Harry Jacob, who resigned from the bench and surrendered his law licence earlier this month after convictions on five misdemeanors earlier this year, including solicitation and falsification of court records, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and given two years probation. He also received six months house arrest.

Prosecutors asked for 360 days in jail, but Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Brian Corrigan opted for a lesser sentence, though he gave Jacob the maximum fine of $2500.

His victims were drug addicted women, whom he took advantage of, prosecutors said.

Jacob, 57 and a resident of Solon, Ohio, apologized to the court and to his family, in what community activists called a fake apology to protect his hide.

Bedford is a Cleveland suburb that is roughly 45 percent Black. It's court, where impropriety is still rampant by chief Judge Brian Melling and Clerk of Court Tom Day, serves 14 cities, townships and villages still at risk, including the majority Black Cleveland suburbs of Warrensville Heights and Bedford Heights.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty and community activists women sought long jail time for what they called a pimp in action who had compromised the integrity of the bench to have sex with prostitutes and to hand them favors by the court. Other documented criminal activity, including holding Black women hostage in the court and denying indigent Black counsel, actions supported by  Cleveland Chapter NAACP attorneys Michael Nelson and James Hardiman, were not among the charges sought by the prosecutor's office.

The Cleveland NAACP is currently under investigation by the national headquarters for impropriety,  including violations of organizational bylaws relative to the election process for branch officers. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY ON THE SUSPENSION OF THE ELECTION FOR CLEVELAND NAACP BRANCH OFFICERS BY THE NATIONAL NAACP DUE TO IMPROPRIETY AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM

Greater Cleveland community activist groups said that Judge Corrigan was too lenient and are upset that prior to a bench trial, he dismissed all of the felony charges against Jacob, including obstruction of justice and tampering with records.

"This pimp of a judge deserved more than 60 days in jail and was protected because he was a judge, and is a White male piece of crap,  and a Republican protected by the Republican dominated Ohio Supreme Court," said Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads the Imperial Women Coalition.

"If  he were Black and female like Cleveland Judge Angela Stokes, whom we collectively support and who has not been  accused of anything criminal but is being harassed by the mainstream media and the Ohio Supreme Court, he would have been thrown under the jail," said Coleman.

Coleman said also that the legal system in Cuyahoga County is "intrinsically corrupt, racist and sexist."

Attorneys for Jacob are appealing their client's five misdemeanor convictions, though legal experts say that that is an uphill battle because the judge  is guilty as sin and there were no errors at the trial court level to merit a reversal of his convictions.

(www.clevelandurbannews.com) / (www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)