Angela Stokes

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Angela Stokes during a pre-trial hearing before the Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct in 2015.

(Dave Andersen, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Angela Stokes, a former 20-year Cleveland Municipal Court judge who retired last month to resolve a legal complaint against her, is now working at a Chick-fil-A in Strongsville.

Stokes, the daughter of the late Congressman Louis Stokes, declined to speak to a cleveland.com reporter Wednesday at the Chick-fil-A on Royalton Road, where Stokes was clearing tables. Stokes did give the reporter her cell phone number.

Stokes, responding to a voicemail message, called cleveland.com on Thursday and spoke to me.

"I'm doing okay," she said, but declined to comment about her work at the fast-food restaurant, leaving her exact role unclear.

She also said she is not ready to talk about the recent legal battle with the Supreme Court or her job.

The disciplinary counsel's complaint, which alleged that Stokes had abused court staff, lawyers and defendants, triggered a trial this year before a special panel of the Ohio Supreme Court's Board of Professional Conduct. The trial, which was held periodically rather than continuously, lasted more than eight weeks and likely would have continued well into 2016.

Stokes agreed in December to retire from the bench and never seek election again to resolve a 2013 complaint against her filed by the Ohio Supreme Court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel. In exchange, the disciplinary counsel agreed to drop its entire 2013 complaint against her and will not oppose Stokes' request to have her law license reinstated. The Ohio Supreme Court suspended her license in Dec. 2014 while she fought the charges against her. The Board of Professional Conduct formally approved the deal in January, after which she resigned.

Though the City of Cleveland paid Stokes' legal fees, the city could not pay Stokes a salary because she did not have a law license. Her law license has not been reinstated.