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Will convicted judge serve 6-month jail term before her appeal is heard?

Found guilty in October of having an unlawful interest in a public contract after she tried to help her brother keep his job as a juvenile court employee, a suspended Ohio juvenile court judge was ordered to report to the Hamilton County jail at the end of the month.

However, an appellate court will likely grant Judge Tracie Hunter’s request to stay her sentence until her appeal is heard, a former prosecutor tells WLWT. And, even if that doesn’t occur, she is a strong candidate for early release because of jail overcrowding, a county sheriff’s official says.

First-time nonviolent offenders such as Hunter are at the top of the list for early release, the article reports. Meanwhile, jailing Hunter would require extra manpower because of the need to keep her in protective custody.

“I want to make the public aware and everyone aware that this jail is full,” said Maj. Charmaine McGuffey, who is in charge of the facility. “We’ve been full for a number of years. And we’ve been making these hard difficult decisions all along. Tracie Hunter is going to be no different in the decision-making process.”

Former prosecutor Jason Phillabaum, who is not working on the case, tells the station he thinks her request for a stay is likely to be granted, since “if they don’t grant a stay, she could serve all of her six months before they hear her appeal.”

But that’s not the only issue Hunter is now facing. On Friday, the state supreme court told her to file a sworn statement by Christmas stating that she has stopped practicing law and is complying with other requirements of an Oct. 21 order, the Cincinnati Enquirer reports.

And a possible retrial of eight other felony charges on which the jury deadlocked in October still looms.

Sentencing Hunter on Friday in the common pleas court case, Judge Norbert Nadel heard from witness after witness who spoke highly of Hunter’s character and community service, WLWT reported earlier.

“Without the dilemma of the double whammy, that would absolutely guarantee probation,” Nadel said as he gave Hunter time, referring to the higher standard to which he said a judge should be held.

“The evidence showed that the criminal conduct of Hunter has dealt a very serious blow to public confidence in our judicial system,” Nadel said.

Hamilton was convicted of using her judicial position to obtain confidential documents eventually provided to her brother’s lawyer. They concerned an incident in which Steven Hunter, as a juvenile court employee, punched a teen inmate in the face.

Related coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “Juvenile judge facing felony case goes off on special prosecutor, says she cannot get a fair trial”

Cincinnati.com: “Hunter trial spotlights racial divide”

Cincinnati.com (opinion): “Hunter got jail for not being quiet”