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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Court fight: Littner beats out Sundermann

Kimball Perry reports:

A City of Cincinnati Solicitor will become the newest Hamilton County Magistrate as soon as he agrees on a salary for his new job.

Jay Littner, a former assistant Hamilton County prosecutor before he began working for Cincinnati, was the unanimous choice today by a group of Hamilton County Municipal Court judges in a private hearing.

Littner admitted he’d been offered the job and accepted this afternoon.

Now making $67,500, Littner will be paid $76,000 when he takes the Magistrate seat.

A magistrate is a quasi-judge. There are six Hamilton County Municipal Court magistrates and 14 judges.

In this case, Littner will be hearing eviction and other cases. He is taking the slot vacated with the upcoming resignation of Anne Erwin.

Littner, 46, of Clifton, grew up in Westwood and graduated from LaSalle High, University of Cincinnati and then the University of Dayton law school. He’s been an attorney since 1986.

He beat out two other Cincinnati assistant solicitors for the job as well as assistant Hamilton County prosecutor Betsy Sundermann, daughter of Cincinnati-based 1st District Court of Appeals Judge J. Howard Sundermann.

Sundermann withdrew her name from consideration, she said, to avoid a fight after the judges were split between giving the job to her or Littner.


14 Comments:

at 3:35 PM, November 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Kimball:

Did you not read your own blog entry? How can it be a "fight" if one person bows out gracefully? Duh!

 
at 4:38 PM, November 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Many thanks to Kimball Perry for having the guts to show up at the Judge's joint session today.

Here's the straight skinny: Up until last week, the Judges were near unanimous for Jay Littner, a veteran of the City Prosecutor's Office and the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office. Betsy Sunderman didn't even interview for the job. She is considered immature and a joke and has no business being a magistrate.

Joe Deters hates Jay Littner because he was close to Mike Allen, who Deters despises above anyone. Also, Judge Hal Sunderman spoke to Judge Sylvia Hendon, Deter's mother in law, and asked Deters to intervene and try to muscle Betsy into the job.

Joe happily began a campaign of threats of retribution to judges who would not support Betsy. He said they would be "targeted" in their elections if the didnt go along. Some judges buckled, some didn't and were insensed by the blatant bullying by Deters. The Democrat judges threatened to make the whole sordid mess public. When push came to shove (and Kimball Perry showed up at joint session) the judges who were intimidated by Deters and who had previously said they would support Littner backed off of thier support of Sunderman and voted for Littner.

Score one for the good guys. The days of Deters influence at the courthouse are waning. Poeple are sick of the bullying and threats.

It just goes top show when you stand up to a bully he usually backs down.

 
at 5:06 PM, November 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hmmm...sounds like you have an ax to grind against Joe Deters. I don't believe a word of your anonymous diatribe. Let's see if this 'story' ever makes the pages of the Enquirer. I doubt it.

Hamilton County is lucky to have a public servant like Joe Deters running the prosecutor's office. You would prefer the unqualified DemocRAT Fanon Rucker, I'm sure. Go peddle your libel to City Beat or some other rag. Nobody's buying what you're selling.

 
at 5:17 PM, November 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Betsy Sundermann is a wonderful person and a dedicated assistant prosecutor. She has a sterling reputation in the Cincinnati legal community.

You [4:38 PM] are an anonymous coward, hiding behind a computer screen. You didn't even manage to spell her name correctly! Did Betsy prosecute a case in which you were the accused? That might explain your seething hatred of her.

 
at 5:49 PM, November 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

If #2 is right then it's good to see the courthouse finally stand up to Deters. So when do they stand up to Senile Sheriff Simon Leis? Deters and 2 of our 3 Commissioners won't even do that.

 
at 9:02 PM, November 29, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Betsy is very decent but please don't say she has a "sterling reputation in the legal community". Sitting in Room A and calling a list of cases does not garner any reputation in the community, good or bad. Its a job that is somewhat more difficult than a postal clerk who sells stamps.

I thought Deters left Columbus with a clear consensus that he was not qualified for much more than a hometown crony. Now he is trying hard to find a death penalty case that he can send up to the Gov's office and test Strickland. Sorry Joe, you can carry that water for the party but I dont think you'll have much luck.

 
at 7:14 AM, November 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous is right on. Ask anyone at the courthouse. Betsy is a nice person but she is unqualified to be a magistrate now. With more experience she will be fine. She is a good person who comes from a good family. It's a shame she was drug into this.

 
at 1:22 PM, November 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

9:02 anonymous [hiding behind your monitor]:

You sound like a lowly clerk or some other paper-pusher who will claim to anyone who will listen that "I could've gone to law school, but..." Bet you know all the home remedies for paper cuts.

 
at 2:54 PM, November 30, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

I hope Mr. Burke is sizing up candidates to run against Deters. It wont be a cake-walk write in this time. He can be beaten. Ask anyone in Columbus.

 
at 2:06 AM, December 01, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, sure! Keep telling yourself that. Hamilton County needs a law & order, take no prisoners type of prosecutor like Joe Deters. Just ask ol' Fanon Rucker about taking on Deters. Deters has the job for as long as he wants it.

 
at 1:03 PM, December 03, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Isnt Rucker Judge Rucker now....and if i can recall he didnt do to bad numbers wise in the election either...

 
at 4:17 PM, December 03, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fanon Rucker was easily defeated by Joe Deters in the county prosecutor election...and anyone can get elected judge in rucker's district as long as you're the "right" color and weak on criminal defendants...

 
at 4:12 PM, December 04, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Too bad Rucker didn't have an opponent this past election!!

 
at 2:29 PM, December 08, 2007 Anonymous Anonymous said...

Fanon Rucker isn't qualified to sit on the bench. File him under "affirmative action."

 
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