Pictured are Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason and Shaker Heights Municipal Court Judge K.J. Montgomery

By Editor Kathy Wray Coleman, a community activist and 20-year investigative reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio

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

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio- Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason posted bond on Wednesday and was released from Shaker Heights jail after a mental examination ordered by Shaker Heights Municipal Court Judge K.J. Montgomery determined that the former state senator poses no serious harm to either himself or others.

Shaker Heights is an affluent Cleveland suburb also routinely accused of housing discrimination against Blacks, the Call and Post Newspaper, a Black Cleveland weekly also with distributions in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, once reported.

One of only three Black judges on the 34-member Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas General Division bench, Mason, 46, left jail with his lawyer, Fernando Mack, who is also Black.

He was arrested by police at his Cleveland home on Saturday afternoon following a 9-1-1 call nearly three hours earlier from his estranged wife, Aisha Mason, 41. She told police, according to the dispatch audiotape, that the judge allegedly hit her in the face, choked her, and put her out of their car at noon on Saturday at the intersection of Ashbury Road and Van Aken Boulevard in Shaker Heights.

After dumping his wife since 2005 on the streets, Mason then  drove off with their two young children, two girls, ages four and six -years- old, still in the car, Aiesha Mason told police. The couple has been separated since March, public court records reveal.

Aiesha  Mason, who filed for divorce on Monday,  was treated at South Point Hospital and later released. She reportedly suffered a bruised jaw, among other injuries.

The Black community is split on the Masons' domestic violence ordeal, some wanting blood against the purportedly violent judge, whom critics said should be held to a higher standard, and others seeing it as a Black family in crisis in need of support.

The judge, who lived in Shaker Heights as a state lawmaker and was an attorney for the Cleveland based law firm of  Baker, Hostler before becoming a judge, appeared before Montgomery by video conference Monday morning.

Montgomery set bond at $65,000, applicably paid by a surety bond or 10 percent, on a second degree felonious assault charge filed at the behest or recommendation of city prosecutor C. Randolph Keller, who is Black and the husband of former Plain Dealer Newspaper columnist Margaret Bernstein.

Montgomery also ordered a mental examination, saying Mason was suicidal, though he posted bond two days later with the help of his sister, who co-signed on the bond.

Since municipal court judges have no authority to hear felony cases under state law, the case was bounded over to the court of common pleas for a possible grand jury assessment on potential criminal charges.

Judge Mason has not been formally indicted by a county grand jury, a necessity under state law for the felony charge to stick and for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty to prosecute him on behalf of the state of Ohio. Hence, the case is now under the auspice of  the controversial McGinty, a former common pleas judge himself and a Democrat like both Mason, and Montgomery.

Cuyahoga County, a county of some 59 municipalities, villages and townships, including the cities of Cleveland and Shaker Heights, which is about 37 percent Black, is a Democratic stronghold and is roughly 29 percent Black.

A special prosecutor could be assigned since Mason and McGinty were on the bench together, Mason since 2008, and McGinty, 19 years before he retired in 2011 to run for county prosecutor.

Mason's common pleas courtroom at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in downtown Cleveland has been temporarily shut down as administrative officials prepare to shuffle his case docket load until and if he returns to the bench.

Guns were found in the Mason home when police showed up unannounced to arrest the judge without a warrant.

Police  said that they confiscated smoke grenades, semi-automatic rifles, more than 2500 rounds of ammunition, and a bullet proof vest.

Whether the warrant-less search will hold up in court or before a county grand jury remains to be seen.

Pictured are Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lance Mason (in red tie), Shaker Heights Municipal Court Judge K.J. Montgomery (in judicial robe), Cleveland Police Patrolman Michael Brelo (in blue shirt), and  137 shots Cleveland police deadly 137 shots shooting victims Malissa Williams, 30, (in White shirt), and Tim Russell, 43, (in blue sweatshirt)

By Editor Kathy Wray Coleman, a community activist and 20-year investigative reporter who trained for 17 years at the Call and Post Newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio

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

A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT

SHAKER HEIGHTS, Ohio- A Black Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas judge charged by the city of Shaker Heights with beating his wife over the weekend received a surety bond from Shaker Heights Municipal Court Judge K.J. Montgomery more than three times the bond amount the jailed judge set in June for Patrolman Michael Brelo, who is White and faces two-counts of voluntary manslaughter in the 137 shots Cleveland police killings of unarmed Blacks Malissa Williams and Tim Russell.

Judge Lance Mason, 46, remains in the Shaker Heights jail regardless of whether he can post bond or not, because of Montgomery's psychiatric evaluation order.

Shaker Heights is a neighboring suburb of Cleveland with a population of some 28,000 people, and is roughly 37 percent Black, U. S. census reports say.

Mason's common pleas courtroom at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center in downtown Cleveland has been temporarily shut down as administrative officials prepare to shuffle his case docket load until and if he returns to the bench.

Black judges of Ohio' municipal and common pleas trial courts that get in legal or disciplinary trouble, particularly in Cuyahoga County, catch all out hell from the mainstream media and in disciplinary proceedings before the bar, usually unlike their White counterparts, an ongoing Cleveland Urban News.Com investigation reveals.

A former state senator and protege of the late Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and on the common pleas bench since 2008, Mason appeared before Montgomery by video conference Monday morning and she issued a $65,000 bond on a second degree felonious assault charge filed at the behest or recommendation of city prosecutor C. Randolph Keller, who is Black and the husband of former Plain Dealer Newspaper columnist Margaret Bernstein.

Keller wants to be a judge too. A former assistant prosecutor for the city of Cleveland, Keller filed petitions to run in the Democratic primary in 2012 for a common pleas judge seat, but later dropped out of the race.

Mason has not been formally indicted by a county grand jury, a necessity under state law for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty, a Democrat like Mason, who has strong  political ties to both Shaker Heights politicians and police, to prosecute him on behalf of the state of Ohio, unless the case is heard by information.

Interestingly, Brelo was handed only a $10,000 bond from Mason himself in June, who heard the arraignment in a Cleveland police manslaughter accusation case now before Common Pleas Judge John O'Donnell, a friend to McGinty, a former longtime common pleas judge who retired from the bench in 2011 to run for county prosecutor.

Currently out of jail on bond, Brelo has pleaded not guilty around the Russell, Williams shooting and awaits trial in a celebrated case of excessive force.

Mason's wife Aisha Fraser Mason, 41, who was treated at South Point hospital and later released, reportedly suffered a bruised jaw, among other injuries. She called  9-1-1 by cell phone this weekend after the judge allegedly hit her in the face, choked her, and put her out of their car at noon on Saturday at the intersection of Ashbury Road and Van Aken Boulevard in Shaker Heights.

A witness who says she saw the couple fighting from her car also called 9-1-1 to corroborate the alleged domestic violence, Shaker Heights police claim, violence that police and Aisha Mason, who filed for divorce on Monday, say has occurred in both public and in private settings.

After dumping his wife since 2005 on the street, Mason then drove off with their two young children, two girls, ages four and six-years-old,  still in the car, Aisha Mason told police. The couple has been separated since March, according to public court records, and Mason resides in Cleveland where he was arrested. Other reports say the couple was still living together before the embarrassing incident was made public this week.

Guns were found in the Mason home when police showed up unannounced to arrest Mason without a warrant at about 2:45 pm the same day of the altercation, the police reported. Whether the judge has a carry permit for the weapons police confiscated has not been made public.

Patrolman Brelo, currently suspended from the Cleveland police force without pay,  is among 13 non-Black Cleveland police officers that gunned down Williams, 30, and Russell, 43, following a high speed car chase that began in downtown Cleveland and ended in a middle school parking lot in neighboring East Cleveland the night of Nov 29, 2012. The other 12 cops that executed the deadly shooting went free after county prosecutor Tim McGinty prejudiced the grand jury and lobbied for the police officers in a prejudicial manner, community activists say, and data suggest.

Brelo fired 49 of the 137 shots at Russell and Williams after jumping aboard the hood of the 1979 Chevy Malibu that Russell was driving, and where Williams was a passenger. The other 12 Cleveland police officers that did the shooting together fired the remaining 88 bullets, not enough though for a criminal indictment, a majority White county grand jury has said.

Under state law, specifically Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1901, Ohio municipal courts  have jurisdiction to hear traffic cases, misdemeanors and civil suits with damages sought at or below $15,000. But that can bind over felony cases to a court of common pleas after a preliminary hearing, unless waived, and prior to grand jury indictments.

Ohio common pleas courts hear felonies, civil cases with damages sought in excess of $15,000, and other cases, such as the filing of an affidavit of prejudice under Ohio Revised Code Section 2701.031 to seek removal of a municipal court judge for prejudice or a conflict of interest, which by state law is determined by the presiding judge of the common pleas court in the county of the municipal court at issue.

A White Democrat with strong ties to the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, Montgomery also issued a protective order which requires that the judge stay 500 feet away from his estranged wife, and she ordered a psychiatric evaluation, saying that Mason acted suicidal during his video arraignment on Monday. Data show, however, that municipal judges in Cleveland, Bedford and elsewhere in the county often use psychiatric evaluations to defame people and to get unneeded monies for the court, particularity if the defendants, some maliciously prosecuted, are Black, female, or outspoken.

The case docket for Shaker Heights court, which also serves the cities of Beachwood, Huntington Valley, Pepper Pike, and University Heights,  is being hidden from the public relative to Mason's arrest.

It all happened too quickly, data show, raising questions on whether police, Judge Montgomery,  or Keller, who held a press congress on Monday to announce publicly that he is prosecuting a prominent Black judge, one of only three Black judges on the general division bench of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas,  have heightened media attention around the ordeal for political and other reasons. Others say that Mason is simply allegedly violent, that his alleged abuse of women has caught up with him,  and that he can no longer hide behind the prestige of being a judge.

The mainstream media, including the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Ohio's largest newspaper, quickly published Mason in jail garb, a rarity for White male judges arrested and charged with crimes such as Bedford Municipal Court Judge Harry Jacob, who is White and suspended from the bench following a county grand jury indictment last year on a host a felony and misdemeanor charges, including theft, bribery and solicitation.

Common Pleas Judge Peter Corrigan, a White judge, did not face such hoopla either when he was arrested last year on suspicion of DUI and subsequently pleaded guilty.

Judges Montgomery and Peter Corrigan, and pimp suspended judge Jacob, under the color of their judicial offices,  harass Blacks and women, a Cleveland Urban News.Com investigation reveals, and Blacks are subject to malicious prosecutions in Shaker Heights court, particularly by the city of Beachwood.

Jacob's trail is currently underway at the county justice center in downtown Cleveland.

Shaker Heights is an affluent city also routinely accused of housing discrimination against Blacks, the Call and Post Newspaper, a Black Cleveland weekly also with distributions in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio, once reported.

Pictured are 137 shots Cleveland police shooting victims Malissa Williams, 30, and Tim Russell, 43, (in sweatshirt), and Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty, who recommended to a Cuyahoga County Grand Jury that 12 of the 13 police officers that executed the deadly shooting, none of whom are Black, escape indictments on criminal charges. At a community forum in East Cleveland Thursday evening community activists called for McGinty, who is White, to resign.

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio- Community activists called for Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Tim McGinty to resign at a community forum in East Cleveland Thursday evening relative to the 137 shots Cleveland police shooting of unarmed Blacks Malissa Williams, 30,  and Timothy Russell 43.  The groups, which include Black on Black Crime, the Oppressed People's Nation, the Imperial Women Coalition, the Carl Stokes Brigade, the Social Justice Committee, and the Cleveland Chapter of the New Black Panther Party, also are demanding that the 13 all non-Black cops that did the shooting are fired by Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson. And they want federal charges and the convening of another county grand jury independent of prejudice by McGinty and his office.

"It was murder," said Abdul Quahhar, chairman of the Cleveland Chapter New Black Panther Party.

David Patterson, vice president of the Carl Stokes Brigade, said that McGinty is running the grand jury and it has to stop.

Community Activist Norma Freeman passed out petitions seeking signatures for the requested police firings as activists spoke and urged the audience not to just target Jackson, who is Black, while leaving McGinty, who is White,  alone.

"Don't give this White man a free pass," one activist said after urging Community Activist Don Freeman to stay clear of just targeting Jackson while protecting McGinty due to intra-group hostility, a term used when Blacks attack one another but are afraid to get similarly situated White people, a by-product of racism

"This is an atrocity,"  said East Cleveland Councilman at Large Nate Martin, likely the most outspoken of the five-member East Cleveland City Council.

Other public officials there include East Cleveland Ward 4 Councilman Mansell Baker and East Cleveland Library Board Trustee William Fambrough, who gave a presentation around the deadly shooting.

The activists groups also agreed that they will not change their names  to one unknown to the community, and will continue under the individual grassroots groups names since many of the groups have been out front since the onset of the controversial issue.

Washington DC – Representatives Tim Ryan (pictured) (OH-13) and Marcia Fudge (pictured) (OH-11) are applauding Akron City Council for expressing their support for the Breaking Addiction Act of 2014 (HR 5136), which was introduced by Fudge and co-sponsored by Ryan, Democratic co-chair of the Addiction Treatment and Recovery Caucus.  Both members of Congress represent Akron and others respective areas in Ohio in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Akron City Council passed  a resolution earlier this week in support of the Breaking Addition Act of 2014, resolution No. 254 -2014. View the full text of the resolution HERE.

"We appreciate and fully support Akron’s congressional representatives Marcia Fudge and Tim Ryan in their efforts to expand cost-effective, community based treatment options in our efforts to address the heroine/opiate epidemic,” said Akron City Councilman at Large Jeff Fusco.

Akron is a city some 30 miles south of Cleveland and is the native and current home of NBA icon and Cleveland Cavaliers basketball player LeBron James and his family.

Ryan and Fudge are both progressive members of Congress, Fudge a Warrensville Heights Democrat and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus of Blacks in Congress, and Ryan, a Niles, Ohio Democrat.

“We understand the damage substance abuse inflicts upon Akron, the State of Ohio and our nation and Ohio is currently experiencing a heroin epidemic, one since 2007," said Fudge and Ryan in a joint statement to Cleveland Urban News.Com, Ohio's leader in Black digital news.

The federal lawmakers said that fatal drug overdoses have been the leading cause of accidental death in Ohio.

"It is imperative that we begin to stem this tide," said Fudge and Ryan. "We are proud to stand with the City of Akron to do everything in our power to provide the services and assistance that are so vital to our community.”

Pictured are former Akron Police Captain Douglas Prade, his murdered ex wife Dr. Margo Prade (in red blouse with necklace), Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh (in red blouse and black suit jacket), and Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor (in Black blouse)

By Kathy Wray Coleman, editor-in-chief, Cleveland Urban News. Com and The Cleveland Urban News.Com Blog,

Kathy Wray Coleman is  a community activist

and 20 year investigative journalist

who trained for 17 years at the

Call and Post Newspaper

in Cleveland, Ohio. (www.clevelandurbannews.com) /(www.kathywraycolemanonlinenewsblog.com)

AKRON, Ohio-Former Akron police captain Douglas Prade, who was convicted of murdering ex-wife Margo Prade 15 years ago, is back behind bars following a judicial hearing Friday on his freedom and after the Ohio Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear an appeal, 4-3, from a Ninth District Court of Appeals decision that reversed a Summit County trial court ruling that freed him from prison in 2013.

Following the Ninth District decision, which was issued in April, a judge ordered Prade back to jail. But he stayed in jail that time for only a day, given freedom once again pursuant to a stay while the Ohio Supreme Court determined whether it would hear his appeal seeking to overturn his convictions. Now the former cop, who has two daughters with Margo Prade, both of them now grown, is back in jail again around this vacillating legal saga and celebrated tragedy.

Since the Ohio Supreme Court this week decided not to hear Prade's appeal, the second appeal behind his unsuccessful appeal of the convictions more than a decade ago, the case now heads back to the trial court that freed him in 2013, a  ruling by retired visiting Summit County Judge Judy Hunter, who also ruled that if the state's high court fails to overturn the murder conviction she would then hold a hearing on Prade's motion for a new trial. The judge alleges that DNA does not link the jealous Prade to the murder of his ex-wife, a popular Akron medical doctor.

Hunter was handpicked for the case by Republican Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor, a favorite of police unions that supported her bid in 2010 as the first female chief justice of the state's high court. O'Connor is accused of handpicking retired judges, paying them $500 a day, and sending some of them throughout the state to allegedly fix cases and harass her enemies, mainly Democrats, women and Black people. A few of them,  including retired Barberton Municipal Court  judge Michael Weigand and retired Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Ronald Suster,  are denying indigent Blacks counsel in municipal courts such as Berea and Bedford.

The infamous city of Bedford, like Berea, is a suburb of Cleveland and is where a judge there, namely Republican Harry Jacob, has been suspended from the bench after an indictment on a host of felonies and other charges, including that he ran a prostitution ring out of the court. Jacob has  pleaded not guilty to all charges and is out on bond, though the Bedford court, which serves the city of Bedford and 13 other jurisdictions of greater Cleveland, including neighboring Bedford Heights and Oakwood Village, is in disarray. Blacks, who are disproportionately prosecuted there, and women defendants brought before the court, some maliciously prosecuted and denied speedy trials like others, are even more at risk, legal experts have said, and a Cleveland Urban News.Com investigation reveals.

When indigent Blacks complain about the denial of counsel these judges, including corrupt Suster and super corrupt Weindgand, issue illegal warrants, data show, some allegedly bragging to community activists and others that they can do so with support from O'Connor and  Cleveland NAACP and its attorneys, James Hardiman and Michael Nelson Sr.

Prade, say his lawyers, will likely face the retired judge Hunter again within 30 days,on whether he will get a new trial, a denial of which sets the stage for more appeals.

Akron is a city some 30 miles south of Cleveland and the native home of NBA basketball icon LeBron James.

Summit County Prosecutor Sherri Bevan Walsh, who fought against the high court's order for a stay from prison of Prade, told Cleveland Urban News.Com that Douglas Prade is as guilty as sin.

"The information presented by the defense that supposedly proves Prade's innocence is, as stated by the Ninth District Court of Appeals judgment released last month, wholly questionable and meaningless,"  said Walsh at the time the stay was issued.