Former judge charged with falsifying docket entries
Former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Suzanne Carr has been accused of conducting arraignments without the presence of prosecutors and amending charges on her own. Photo from the Cleveland Municipal Court.
A municipal judge in Ohio suspended from the bench for running her court in a “reckless and cavalier manner” is now facing criminal charges for allegedly falsifying docket entries.
Former Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Suzanne Carr is facing three misdemeanor charges of falsification, report Cleveland.com, WYKC, WOIO and Fox 8.
According to WYKC, Carr is accused of conducting arraignments without the presence of prosecutors and amending charges on her own. She signed orders in the cases that read “prosecutor amends charge.”
Instead of applying for reinstatement after her suspension, Carr resigned her post, according to WYKC.
In the ethics case that led to Carr’s suspension, a hearing panel concluded that she “ruled her courtroom in a reckless and cavalier manner” and “conducted business in a manner befitting a game show host.”
When issuing the suspension, the Ohio Supreme Court said Carr had used holidays and birthdays as reasons to waive court fines and costs, had issued warrants for the arrest of defendants for missing hearings that she never told them about, had ignored an order to reschedule cases because of COVID-19, and had worn inappropriate outfits to court that included spandex shorts and T-shirts with slogans.
The hearing panel had said Carr routinely conducted hearings when a prosecutor wasn’t present and “unilaterally recommended” plea bargains to unrepresented defendants with no prosecutor was present.
