Kevin Grasha, and Sharon Coolidge

Cincinnati

On Monday, the question going into a hearing about what would happen next in the murder case against Ray Tensing was whether it would be moved to another county.

Instead, in a surprise move, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Megan Shanahan disqualified herself. She said everyone deserved “a blank slate” in the retrial of the former University of Cincinnati police officer who fatally shot Sam DuBose during a traffic stop.

Judge Tom Heekin was randomly selected to preside over the case. He did not make a decision Monday about whether he will keep it but said he likely would come to a conclusion Tuesday.

"It's not a decision I want to make quickly," Heekin told The Enquirer.

Heekin, who was appointed to the bench in June, represented one of DuBose’s 13 children in a $4.85 million settlement reached last year between DuBose’s family and the university. He served as a guardian ad litem for one of DuBose's sons.

Heekin said he needed to look into whether his work in the civil case when he was still a private attorney could be a conflict of interest.

Tensing is charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter in the July 2015 shooting, which happened when DuBose tried to drive away from the traffic stop. The first trial ended Nov. 12 with Shanahan declaring a mistrial after the jury couldn’t reach a unanimous decision.

The first order of business for the new judge likely will be Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters’ request to move the case to another county. Tensing’s attorney, Stew Mathews, has said he was leaning towards fighting that request, but nothing has officially been filed in court.

Shanahan on Monday did refuse Mathews’ request to dismiss the two charges Tensing faces.

Mathews argued that there was a “total lack of evidence to support” the manslaughter charge, which he said required evidence of a “sudden fit of rage or sudden passion.” Regarding the murder charge, he asked Shanahan to give deference to the jury, which he said voted 10-2 for a not guilty verdict.

Also Monday, Shanahan agreed to release the 25-page questionnaires jurors filled out as part of jury selection, but said she will redact names, addresses and other personal information so jurors would not be identified.

She said jurors during the trial “were distracted by the potential that their identities would become known.”

She added that the next jury “will have the same reasonable concerns.”

The Enquirer and WCPO-TV requested the questionnaires during the trial, arguing that state law says they’re public. Attorney Jack Greiner, who is representing The Enquirer, said in court that access to the questionnaires helps preserve the fairness of the jury selection process.

During the trial, Shanahan said she would release redacted versions of the questionnaires and then backtracked. Greiner said her signed entry to keep the questionnaires confidential during the trial appeared to be based on concerns about juror privacy, which he said is not sufficient to withhold the information.

Under Ohio law he said, "the presumption is this information is public."