'I don't play well' judge who threatened to track down, jail misbehaving litigant gets tossed from case
An Ohio judge who bragged about his history as a boxer and his intimidating presence on the childhood playground has been kicked off a case for his threat to track down and jail a litigant if he violates a court order. (Image from Shutterstock)
An Ohio judge who bragged about his history as a boxer and his intimidating presence on the childhood playground has been kicked off a case for his threat to track down and jail a litigant if he violates a court order.
In an opinion posted April 8, the Ohio Supreme Court tossed Judge Robert P. Ruehlman from the case of litigant Roger Dean Ward, who sued over traffic citations that he received.
Ruehlman is a retired judge who was sitting by assignment in Jackson County, Ohio, according to WXIX.
The Ohio Supreme Court said it was removing Ruehlman from the case because of the appearance of impropriety.
Ruehlman made his remarks after declaring that Ward was a “vexatious” litigant during a November 2023 hearing. Ruehlman emphasized that Ward would need permission to file court documents, and he would be in direct contempt of court if he disobeyed. Ruehlman warned of the consequences several times during the hearing.
“If you file anything and play around with this ruling, you’re going to go to jail. I’ll find you and track [you] down and put you in jail. I won’t—I won’t—I won’t play around. I don’t play well,” Ruehlman said in one of his several jailing threats.
Ruehlman bragged about his tough-guy reputation during his lecture to Ward.
“I was the guy on the playground that nobody screwed with,” Ruehlman said. “My dad was a boxer. I was a boxer. I got five surgeries, plastic surgeries, to prove that I was the guy nobody wanted to fool with and you don’t want to fool with—I have a reputation in my county; you don’t fool with Judge Ruehlman.”
Ruehlman described Ward as a “sovereign citizen,” drawing an objection from Ward. Ruehlman then asked Ward whether he had a driver’s license and a license plate and said he should follow the law.
“If you don’t like our country, leave. If you’re not going to follow the law and behave yourself and file these ridiculous lawsuits—um—you’re going to come in front of me and I will file—I will—I will swiftly put you in jail,” Ruehlman said.
Ruehlman denied having bias against Ward and said his comments were intended to convey the message that he isn’t “a pushover.” Despite Ruehlman’s intentions, the issue is what an objective observer would think, the Ohio Supreme Court said.
“Because an objective observer would reasonably conclude that the judge has already determined that Ward would be guilty of direct contempt for which jail time is the appropriate punishment—regardless of the evidence adduced at a potential contempt hearing—Judge Ruehlman is disqualified,” the state supreme court concluded.
Ruehlman didn’t immediately respond to a message from the ABA Journal requesting comment.
Hat tip to Law.com, which covered the decision.
