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Ohio Supreme Court refuses to disqualify Black Cleveland Judge Pinkey Carr from hearing cases but orders her not to hold court during the coronavirus outbreak, a win for Carr, who, as a then prosecutor, got serial killer Anthony Sowell convicted

25 March 2020

Kathy

Pictured is Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, via a journal entry issued on Wednesday, denied an affidavit of prejudice filed by Chief Cuyahoga County Public Defender Mark Stanton on behalf of his clients to permanently suspend Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr from hearing any and all criminal and traffic cases for holding court during the coronavirus outbreak but did rule that Carr cannot hold court during the outbreak as ordered by Cleveland Administrative and Presiding Judge Michelle Earley, who is Black like Carr.

The state law or statute (R.C. 2701.031) for disqualifying a municipal court judge in Ohio from hearing cases for bias or conflict, however, does not say the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme court can order such judge off of a group of cases rather than individual cases, and in lieu of a bar complaint.

Via her ruling on Wednesday, O'Connor, who under state law decides all affidavits of prejudice filed against Ohio judges, obviously made that clear and denied the blanket demand by the county public defender's office that Carr be barred from hearing cases in general as lacking merit.

In short, the chief justice found no prejudice by Carr but said the judge sent mixed messages and caused confusion when she held court against Earley's order to delay hearings on non-jailed defendants.

Though really just a peer to the other judges by law and other authorities, Earley issued an order for the judges of the Cleveland Municipal Court, 13 of them and most of them Black, to postpone hearing cases of defendants not in jail for three weeks because of the coronavirus outbreak, an order that does not apply to jailed defendants.

Carr, and some other judges, went forward with court anyway, the clerk's office issuing arrests warrants if defendants, most of them Black, failed to appear.

Those warrants have since been recalled.

Carr said she did not sign any journal entries for such warrants but noted on documents that they "failed to appear," the Ohio Supreme Court, per relevant case law, requiring that judges journalize such things as arrest warrants in writing in order for them to be effective

An appeal of Carr's order for defendants to appear in court during the coronavirus outbreak filed by County Public Defender Stanton is also pending in the 8th District Court of Appeals, though it is questionable whether it has jurisdiction to hear an appeal at this juncture and while the criminal and traffic cases at issue are still pending before Carr.

Moreover, even if the 8th district accepts the appeal as a final appealable order and hears the case, it could likely rule that the issue is now moot.

A Republican and the first female elected to the state's high court, O'Connor, a native of Lyndhurst in Cuyahoga County and a former lieutenant governor, had ordered Carr to temporarily stop hearing cases during the coronavirus outbreak util she could rule on the affidavit, the chief justice bringing some degree of clarity to uncharted territory and in essence handing more authority to administrative judges in municipal and county courts in Ohio in a magnified crisis like the coronavirus outbreak, though her ruling pertains to the affidavit of disqualification at bar.

Judge Carr quickly drew the ire of Cleveland's mainstream media, which is routine when complaints are leveled against Black judges by prominent White men, this time Chief Cuyahoga County Public Defender Mark Stanton, and criminal defense attorney Ian Friedman, head of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

Judge Carr is a former city law director and assistant county prosecutor-turned judge and was the lead prosecutor who got serial killer Anthony Sowell convicted on 82 of 83 counts in 2011. Sowell murdered 11 Black women and raped three others at his since demolished home on Imperial Avenue on Cleveland's largely Black east side He sits on death row He and his attorneys are seeking a new appeal in the 8th District Court of Appeals. We do, however, call for Judge Carr to alter her temperament toward defense counsel and defendants and we urge defense counsel and the Cleveland bar to fight against the denial of speedy trial rights for Blacks and some others in municipal and the general division common pleas court of Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Last Updated on Thursday, 02 April 2020 02:53

Kamala Harris tops the list as Joe Biden's vice presidential running-mate choice and would be the first Black woman to run on a major party ticket in America for president

25 March 2020

Kathy

Pictured is United States senator and former Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (D-CA)

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview. CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publsher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELAND, Ohio-U.S. Sen Kamala Harris of California, the only Black woman to seek the 2020 Democratic nomination for president, though she suspended her campaign late last year, is at the top of the list for possible selection as the vice presidential running-mate for Democratic presidential front-runner former vice president Joe Biden.

Hailing from the nation's post populous state with ties to San Francisco, If she is selected, and subsequently honors the request, she would become the first Black woman to run on a major party ticket in America for president.

Of course Biden must win the nomination for any such possibility to materialize.

He committed to a female running-mate during the 11th Democratic Debate on March 15 in Washington, D.C., and he is likely the presumptive nominee over U.S. Sen Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who lags behind substantially in pledged delegates.

U.S. Rep Marcia Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose 11th congressional district includes Cleveland and a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, endorsed Harris for president, an indication that the congresswoman is also on board in supporting her as Biden's running-mate as well.

Other women on Biden's short list are purportedly former presidential candidates U.S. Sens Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, former Atlanta state legislator Stacey Abrams, who is Black, Latina Congresswoman Catherine-Cortez-Mastro, and Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Both Klobuchar and Harris, a former California attorney general, have endorsed Biden over Sanders, a socialist Democrat who lost the nomination in 2016 to Hillary Clinton, Clinton then losing the general election to incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican

Biden served as vice president under former president Barack Obama, a Democrat and the nation's first Black president.

The Democratic nominee will take on President Trump for the Nov. 3 general election, absent any delays.

An Obama-Biden ally, Harris suspended her presidential campaign last December after fundraising difficulties and consistently low poll numbers in the months leading up to her departure, the senator polling at just 2-4 percent in some polls, a drop from when she surged to second place at 22 percent and within five percentage points of Biden following her spectacular performance during the First Democratic Debate in Miami, Florida last June.

Harris, 55, told supporters in an email that she could no longer afford the pursuit of the presidency due to a lack of money but that she will continue to fight.

“My campaign for president simply doesn’t have the financial resources we need to continue,” Harris wrote. “But I want to be clear with you: I am still very much in this fight.”

The junior senator raised eyebrows when she took on Biden during the first Democratic debate on race, saying he has fraternized with segregationists and that he should not have opposed court-ordered public school busing plans, busing a 1970s, 80s and 90s phenomenon in place to seek to remedy racial disparities and intentional discrimination against Black children in America's general largely Black public school districts.

And while Harris may have surged in the polls regarding her dispute with Biden on race during the first Democratic debate, some Democratic voters, mainly Whites, simply did not like her attacking Biden, 77, her supporters saying she did what debaters do to win.

Black political pundits said Harris had an uphill battle from the get go because she is both Black and female, which is double jeopardy relative to a run for president in America, a country that has never entertained a woman for president, not to mention a Black woman.

Despite her general appeal and good looks, and her commitment to the Black community on public policy matters of significance, she could not gain inroads into the Black community like Biden, who enjoys widespread support from Black voters, particularly among older Blacks and southern voters.

Running for vice president is a different animal, pundits have said, and Harris fits the profile that U.S Rep James Clyburn wants on the ticket, a woman and "preferably an African-American woman."

A seasoned and respected congressman, Clyburn is Black too, and is credited with reviving Biden's then failing campaign by endorsing him for South Carolina's primary, which Biden won, and never looked back, his campaign saying also that he did not necessarily expect to win in the earlier primaries like in Iowa and in New Hampshire, White voters territory without a doubt.

And while Harris has some baggage as a former California attorney general from 2011-2017 and Biden wants to distance himself from criticism regarding the 1994 anti-Black crime bill he backed as a then U.S. senator when Bill Clinton was president, pundits say she has the stamina, stage presence and campaign experience to walk with Biden on the campaign trail, and to compliment the Democratic ticket as a candidate for vice president.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, the most read Black digital newspaper in Ohio and in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com.

Last Updated on Saturday, 16 May 2020 04:58

Editorial: Temporarily suspended Cleveland Judge Pinkey Carr had authority to hold court during coronavirus outbreak, activist Kathy Wray Coleman says on WERE AM 1490 radio today on the Art McKoy radio show...Read why here....By Clevelandurbannews.com

22 March 2020

Kathy

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper and Black blog, both also at the top in Black digital news in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

Editorial by Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELAND, Ohio-Community activist Kathy Wray Coleman, who leads imperial Women's Coalition, Women's March Cleveland and International Women's Day March Cleveland, discussed the temporary suspension this week from hearing cases of Black Cleveland Judge Pinkey Carr by the Ohio Supreme Court today on the Art McKoy University Show, WERE 1490 AM radio in Cleveland. The Ohio Supreme Court ordered her to stop hearing cases during the coronavirus outbreak until requests to remove her from several traffic and criminal cases are addressed by the court , requests made by the public defender's office with support from the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. Cleveland administrative Judge Michelle Earley had issued an "order" advising those not in jail to stay home due to coronavirus and that Cleveland judges should reschedule court hearings three weeks later, and Carr held court anyway.

If the request to get Carr off of cases is in the form of an affidavit filed by the public defender's office per R.C 2701.031 as to seeking the removal of a municipal court judge from a particular case by the chief justice of the largely Republican Ohio Supreme Court for bias or conflict, and it is timely filed and accepted, it stops proceedings until the affidavit of prejudice at bar is decided by the chief justice, currently Republican Justice Maureen O'Connor. Whether any appeal of Judge Carr's orders for court during the coronavirus outbreak filed with the 8th District Court of Appeals will be deemed a final appealable order, which means it can be heard on the merits before the conclusion of the criminal or traffic cases at issue at the trial court level, remains to be seen. Other available remedies include a writ filed with the Ohio Supreme Court against Carr, who says other Cleveland judges did what she did. Car says she held court for those out on bail who showed up

Judge Carr quickly drew the ire of Cleveland's mainstream media, which is routine when complaints are leveled against Black judges by prominent White men, this time Chief Cuyahoga County Public Defender Mark Stanton, who filed the affidavit of prejudice against her with Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor and criminal defense attorney Ian Friedman, head of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association.

The statute (R.C. 2701.031) , however, does not say the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme court can order such judge off of a group of cases while an affidavit of disqualification is pending. Carr has until Tuesday to respond to the demand that she be removed from such cases and, again, is barred from hearing criminal and traffic cases in the meantime per an order from the Ohio Supreme Court This is questionable. And removing this judge from cases in general must go through the bar complaint process, and any interceding orders should be fair. Court in Cleveland for those in jail is proceeding as usual. Those not in jail are subject to a postponement of their cases, and speedy trial issues are at play in many cases.

A Democrat first elected to the the bench since 2011, and reelected in 2017, Carr is accused of holding court hearings on traffic and other cases in spite of a so-called order by chief Cleveland Judge Michelle Earley for judges not to hold such hearings or to issue arrest warrants for no shows during the coronavirus outbreak. Carr is also accused of issuing arrest warrants when defendants failed to appear.

A 13-member court that has a separate housing court with its separate budget, and is largely Black, Cleveland judges primarily traffic and misdemeanor cases and lawsuits with damages sought at or below $15 thousand.

While we disagree with arrest warrants during the virus outbreaks since defendants are recommended to stay home, since Judge Earley, the Cleveland court's administrative and presiding judge, has no authority to shut down the court and is really only commensurate to Carr as a colleague, Judge Carr had authority to proceed with cases and we can find no violations of either the Ohio Lawyer's Professional Code of Responsibility or the Ohio Judicial Code of Conduct, or any other authority for that matter. And any such warrants for failing to appear during the coroavirus outbreak would require a journal entry that Judge Carr said she did not issue, so any previous warrants should be void, we believe. The Ohio Supreme Court, via case law, has said that a judge or a court of record speak via its journal entries.

The Ohio Supreme Court should issue a directive to Ohio trial courts on the coronavirus and indicate punishment for violating such directive ahead of time, though its authority is limited too, and I doubt if it has such authority to issue any such directive. Whether Cleveland City Council can pass an ordinance closing court buildings in Cleveland over the coronavirus, I do not know. Judge Carr is on firm ground, it appears, when she held court in the absence of any legislative or other type of binding order to do otherwise, like it or not.

Judge Carr is a former assistant county prosecutor-turned judge and was the lead prosecutor who got serial killer Anthony Sowell convicted on 82 of 83 counts in 2011. Sowell murdered 11 Black women and raped three others at his since demolished home on Imperial Ave on Cleveland's largely Black east side He sits on death row He and his attorneys are seeking a new appeal in the 8th District Court of Appeals. We do, however, call for Judge Carr to alter her temperament toward defense counsel and defendants and we urge defense counsel and the Cleveland bar to fight against the denial of speedy trial rights for Blacks and some others in municipal and the general division common pleas court of Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Last Updated on Wednesday, 25 March 2020 04:34

Public funeral for March 21 for Cleveland biker Lee "Shonuff" Dickson to go forward, Dickson the only fatality among 18 shot during a biker's anniversary party in Cleveland, activist and biker Donna Walker-Brown calling the killing "tragic"

20 March 2020

Kathy

CLEVELAND, Ohio. –Public funeral services for Cleveland biker Lee "Shonuff" Dickson, the only fatality among 18 people shot during an anniversary event at a private (pictured)club in Cleveland earlier this month, will go forward on Sat., March 21 in spite of the

Dickson died March 7 following a mass shooting at a private party sponsored by the Cleveland Chapter of the Omens Motorcycle Club on the city's largely Black east side at East 93rd Street and Way Avenue.

The wake is set for 9:30 am at Mount Sinai Baptist Church on Woodland Avenue in Cleveland, followed by a 10 am funeral.

Services are entrusted to Lucas Memorial Chapel in Garfield Heights.

A representative for Lucas Memorial Chapel confirmed the aforementioned funeral arrangements and said the obituary for Dickson will not be published until the day of the funeral.

"The funeral will go forward and is a public funeral," a spokesperson for Lucas Memorial said.

Aside from Dickson, 14 men and three women were shot, the others with non-fatal injuries, an incident, said police, in which a group put out of the anniversary party returned later that night with gunfire, Dickson, 48 and a beloved community advocate who owned a mobile barber shop, an innocent by-stander who lost his life by no actions of his own.

People in the club fired back, police said, no arrests, if any, made public too date.

Hundreds attended a vigil in Cleveland for Dickson on March 9.

A member of a rival motorcycle club in Cleveland purportedly bragged of the shooting prior to it happening.

Police said the shooting remains under investigation.

Cleveland activist Donna Walker-Brown, who led Monday's vigil and is also a member of the Omens Motorcycle Club, called the killing, "tragic and unprecedented."

Her sentiments were echoed by Ward 2 Councilman Kevin Bishop, an east side councilman who represents the area where the shooting occurred.

Bishop said he worries about "retaliation from motorcycle clubs in the area."

Dickson had no children and was never married.

Walker-Brown said that Dickson was well-regarded in the community and that it is a misnomer that bikers are traditionally violent, and members of a gang.

"It is a myth that bikers are a gang when in actuality we are a family and a tight-nit community," said Walker- Brown, who joined the Omens Motorcycle Club in 1999 but said she gave up her motorcycle three years later after she fell while riding.

"I have an association with the bikers but my involvement has taken a back seat to community activism, " said Walker- Brown. " Being a community activist and being a biker are two different worlds."

Walker-Brown said that some of the greater Cleveland bikers are community oriented and serve as funeral escorts, particularly for poor people having difficulty with funeral expenses of loved ones.

She said that they pass out candy for kids for Halloween, and that they routinely canvass the community to push voting, and hold vigils, including for the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting.

The Sandy Hook Shooting occurred in December 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut when 20-year-old Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children between six and seven years old, and six adult staff members.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, and who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Last Updated on Saturday, 21 March 2020 13:52

Black Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge slams Governor Mike DeWine for postponing Ohio's primary election over the coronavirus as Biden sweeps primaries that went forward in Florida, Arizona and Illinois where hundreds of poll workers stayed home

18 March 2020

Kathy

Pictured are Ohio 11th Congressional District Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose largely Black congressional district includes Cleveland, and Ohio GOP Governor Mike DeWine

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper and Black blog, both also at the top in Black digital news in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, COLUMBUS, Ohio- Ohio 11th Congressional District Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge, a Warrensville Heights Democrat whose largely Black congressional district includes Cleveland and several of its eastern suburbs of Cuyahoga County, is condemning the decision on Monday by Ohio Gov Mike DeWine, a Republican elected to office in 2018, to close polls in Ohio on Tuesday, March 17 for the state's Democratic presidential primary, DeWine doing so, he says, in response to health concerns as to the coronavirus outbreak.

Ohio was one of four states slated to hold primaries on Tuesday, primaries also scheduled for Florida, Illinois and Arizona, all three of them going forward with Joe Biden sweeping all three states.

On the ballot in Ohio are candidates for judge-ships, state legislative seats, Congress, health and human service issues, and more, including Democratic candidates for president.

“We all are concerned with the spread of the coronavirus, as are the governors in the states holding elections today as their laws dictate," Fudge said in a statement on Tuesday. "Gov. DeWine’s decision to close the polls creates, rather than prevents, barriers to the ballot box."

A trained attorney, as is DeWine, Fudge said DeWine "no longer respects the rule of law."

She said the governor allegedly has known about the coronavirus outbreak for sometime, and did nothing, she says.

“We’ve been aware of COVID-19 for some time, and people have safely voted for the past month, with much of that voting occurring during in-person, early voting," said Rep Fudge, one of two Blacks in Congress from Ohio and a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. "Knowing the potential risks, Ohioans were still casting their early ballots, even as recently as yesterday. "

The congresswoman said that there were better options than closing the polls, and that DeWine and Lt Gov John Husted, a former Ohio secretary of state, are both deterrents to voting in Ohio.

"Ohio, under John Husted," said Fudge, "became the epicenter of voter suppression and voter disenfranchisement. "

"Now, DeWine is the new face in the effort to stop people from voting," said the congresswoman.

Democratic U.S Rep Joyce Beatty of Columbus, the other Black in Congress from Ohio, took a more moderate approach and said in a statement that her office is simply on top of matters regarding the virus.

Rep Marcy Kaptur, a Toledo Democrat whose ninth congressional district extends to Cleveland and the longest serving women in Congress, and Congressman Tim Ryan, a Youngstown area Democrat, did not issue public press releases on DeWine's decision to shut down Ohio's primary, Fudge, Kaptur, Beatty and Ryan the four Democratic representatives from Ohio, Ohio with 16 congressional seats in Congress, the other 12 of them Republicans.

U.S. Sen Sherrod Brown, a Cleveland Democrat and seasoned member of the Senate, was not outspoken on the controversy either, an indication that members of Ohio's Democratic Congressional Delegation are divided on the issue of whether Ohio's primary should have been delayed.

And while the Ohio Democratic Party is also upset with DeWine's poll closing tactics, reports say that the coronavirus did upend the election results in Florida, Illinois and Arizona, and kept some voters home yesterday with at least five polls in Florida not opening due to a lack of workers and hundreds of poll workers calling off at the last minute in all three states combined.

Whether Ohio's delayed primary, whenever it materializes, will upend voters as Congresswoman Fudge claims, remains to be seen.

The field of more than 20 Democratic candidates for president has now been essentially narrowed down to two, U.S, Sen Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Biden, who was the vice president under former president Barack Obama, and is the front-runner who yesterday swept Arizona, Florida and Illinois.

Ohio aside, Tuesday's primary elections represented 15 percent of the total pledged delegates, 67 in Arizona, 219 in Florida, 155 in Illinois, and 136 pledged delegates available in Ohio.

Biden picked up 305 more pledged delegates on Tuesday, and Sanders, 163.

Following Tuesday's primaries Biden now has 1,111 pledged delegates, and Sanders, 796, a candidate needing at least 1,991 of the total 3,979 pledged delegates to win the nomination.

Early last week the Gov DeWine announced that the first three confirmed cases of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, are residents of Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

Since then several cases of the virus have popped up in Ohio, and in other counties such as Trumbull County where a 55-year-old man succumbed to the disease, a second case just announced there this week, and the patient a Black man.

There are 169 confirmed cases in Ohio, but no fatalities, yet.

The infectious disease, which has impacted China and Italy disproportionately, spans across all 50 states and New Mexico, and has infected more than 216,817 people around the world, with some 8,908 deaths worldwide.

There are more than 8,019 cases in the U.S. alone.

Some 125 people have died to date in the U.S. relative to the deadly virus, up from the 97 deaths recorded earlier this week.

The governor's decision to close the polls on Tuesday follow his previous orders to close K-12 schools, effective Monday, and to forbid eating inside restaurants, coupled with a host of other precautionary measures suggested by state officials and the Centers for Disease Control, including the recommendations of avoiding gatherings of more than 50 people, staying home when sick, and getting tested if symptoms like fever and chills develop.

How long the delay in the election will last remains to be seen, sources saying it might be in June at the latest, though many Ohioans have already voted either by mail or via early voting.

“During this time when we face an unprecedented public health crisis, to conduct an election tomorrow would force poll workers and voters to place themselves at a unacceptable health risk of contracting coronavirus," DeWine said in a statement.

The decision by state officials to shut down the polls in the pivotal state of Ohio was sanctioned by state Department of Health Director Dr. Amy, if not directed, and came in response to a lawsuit filed by two elderly Franklin county voters, Franklin County the largest of 88 counties statewide, and of which includes the capital city of Columbus.

Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Richard A. Frye, a Democrat, sided with a GOP elections attorney and Republican Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, and ruled against plaintiffs Jill Reardon and Judy Brockman in the lawsuit, both of them over 65.

The judge said the request was too late and in the twilight hour, the subsequent close of the polls Tuesday undertaken in part, said DeWine, to provide time for the case, which is on appeal, to make its way through the courts.

The lawsuit argues in part that health fears will keep some elderly voters away from the polls and that it would have been unconstitutional to go forward.

DeWine said his objective in putting a halt to Ohio's primary in the midst of a health crisis of large proportions was to protect the constructional right to vote of all Ohio voters.

Some Black leaders have said that extending primaries in the midst of the virus protects Black voters and their constitutional right to vote, and that to do otherwise could violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which precludes racial discrimination in voting.

Meanwhile, Ohio's Republican-dominated state legislature is discussing changing the date of the election, which it has the authority to do, within reason.

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog.Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com. We interviewed former president Barack Obama one-on-one when he was campaigning for president. As to the Obama interview, CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE AT CLEVELAND URBAN NEWS.COM, OHIO'S LEADER IN BLACK DIGITAL NEWS.

Last Updated on Sunday, 22 March 2020 12:52

Ohio's March 17 primary election postponed over coronavirus and after Black activists and Black leaders complained that going forward might compromise the Black vote and violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman

17 March 2020

Kathy

By Kathy Wray Coleman, associate publisher, editor-in-chief

CLEVELANDURBANNEWS.COM, COLUMBUS, Ohio- Ohio Gov Mike DeWine, a Republican elected to office in 2018 and a former U.S. senator, announced late Monday night that polls will be closed in Ohio on Tuesday, March 17 for the state's Democratic presidential primary in spite of a ruling by a Democratic judge against the measure, DeWine citing health concerns as to the coronavirus outbreak, particularly regarding the elderly.

It follows orders by the governor to close K-12 schools, effective Monday, and that forbid eating inside restaurants, coupled with a host of other precautionary measures suggested by state officials and the Centers for Disease Control, including the recommendations of avoiding gatherings of more than 50 people, staying home when sick, and getting tested if symptoms like fever and chills develop.

How long the delay in the election will last remains to be seen, sources saying it might be in June at the latest, though many Ohioans have already voted either by mail or via early voting.

The lawsuit argues in part that health fears will keep some elderly voters away from the polls and that it would have been unconstitutional to go forward.

DeWine said his objective in putting a halt to Ohio's primary in the midst of a health crisis of large proportions was to protect the constructional right to vote of all Ohio voters.

Meanwhile, Ohio's Republican-dominated state legislature is discussing changing the date of the election, which it has the authority to do, within reason.

Black activists and Black leaders of greater Cleveland were concerned that continuing the election in spite of the cornavirus pandemic would compromise the Black vote, and might violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which precludes discrimination in voting.

Before DeWine's decision to postpone Ohio's primary, Black activists of Cleveland had said that they would hold the Republicans accountable if the Black vote were compromised relative to the controversy.

Early last week the governor announced that the first three confirmed cases of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, are residents of Cuyahoga County, which includes Cleveland.

There are 26 confirmed cases in Ohio, but no fatalities, yet.

The infectious disease, which has impacted China and Italy disproportionately, spans across 49 states and New Mexico, and has infected more than 196,603 people around the world, with some 7,925 deaths worldwide.

There are more than 5,523 cases in the U.S. alone.

Some 97 people have died to date in the U.S. relative to the deadly virus.

On the ballot in Ohio are candidates for judge-ships, state legislative seats, Congress, health and human service issues, and more, including Democratic candidates for president.

The field of more than 20 Democratic candidates for president has now been essentially narrowed down to two, Joe Biden the vice president under former president Barack Obama and the front-runner with 868 delegates to date, and U.S, Sen Bernie Sanders of Vermont with 718, a candidate needing at least 1,991 of the total 3,979 pledged delegates to win the nomination.

Ohio aside, Tuesday's primary elections represent 15 percent of the total pledged delegates, 67 in Arizona, 219 in Florida, 155 in Illinois, and 136 pledged delegates available in Ohio.

Last Updated on Thursday, 19 March 2020 15:35

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Cleveland Browns win their first game of the season against the Jacksonville Jaguars....By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

VP Kamala Harris wins the first presidential debate over Trump hands down....By Clevelandurbannews.com, Ohio's Black digital news leader

Ohio Congresswoman Emilia Sykes issues statement on preliminary court injunction against Ohio's abortion pill restrictions...Sykes said that she will continue fighting to protect reproductive freedoms for women in Ohio’s 13th congressional district

Ohio Supreme Court refuses to disqualify Black Cleveland Judge Pinkey Carr from hearing cases but orders her not to hold court during the coronavirus outbreak, a win for Carr, who, as a then prosecutor, got serial killer Anthony Sowell convicted

Pictured is Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr

Kamala Harris tops the list as Joe Biden's vice presidential running-mate choice and would be the first Black woman to run on a major party ticket in America for president

Editorial: Temporarily suspended Cleveland Judge Pinkey Carr had authority to hold court during coronavirus outbreak, activist Kathy Wray Coleman says on WERE AM 1490 radio today on the Art McKoy radio show...Read why here....By Clevelandurbannews.com

Pictured is Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Carr

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read digital Black newspaper and Black blog, both also at the top in Black digital news in the Midwest. Tel: (216) 659-0473. Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

Public funeral for March 21 for Cleveland biker Lee "Shonuff" Dickson to go forward, Dickson the only fatality among 18 shot during a biker's anniversary party in Cleveland, activist and biker Donna Walker-Brown calling the killing "tragic"

Clevelandurbannews.com and Kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com, Ohio's most read Black digital newspaper and Black blog Tel: (216) 659-0473 and Email: editor@clevelandurbannews.com

Black Ohio Congresswoman Marcia Fudge slams Governor Mike DeWine for postponing Ohio's primary election over the coronavirus as Biden sweeps primaries that went forward in Florida, Arizona and Illinois where hundreds of poll workers stayed home

Ohio's March 17 primary election postponed over coronavirus and after Black activists and Black leaders complained that going forward might compromise the Black vote and violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965....By editor Kathy Wray Coleman

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