The Ohio Supreme Court issued a public reprimand of Highland County Magistrate Cynthia Ann Williams in a slip opinion posted Tuesday, Dec. 18.According to supremecourt.ohio.gov, the Supreme Court unanimously decided Dec. 19 that Williams violated Rule 1.3, “Abusing prestige of judicial office to advance personal interests,” of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct by “asserting status as [a] magistrate to avoid arrest during [a] traffic stop.”As previously reported in The Highland County Press, Williams was terminated from future work at the Highland County Common Pleas Court - Juvenile and Probate Division in the summer of 2016 by Judge Kevin L. Greer.She was also placed on a two-week unpaid suspension at the Domestic Relations Division of Highland County Common Pleas Court by Judge Rocky A. Coss.Williams' termination from the Juvenile and Probate Division was due in part to her undisclosed arrest on July 9, 2016 in Clermont County, Judge Greer said.According to the Supreme Court, the parties stipulate that on July 9, 2016, at approximately 3:30 a.m., an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper stopped Williams on State Route 32 in Union Township, Clermont County, Ohio, after observing her vehicle drift to the left of the solid white fog line. The trooper asked Williams to step out of her vehicle and inquired about how much she had had to drink; she stated that she had two beers.When the trooper began to administer the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, Williams stated, “I’m a magistrate.” In response, the trooper asked Williams where she was a magistrate, and she replied, “Highland County.” Then, the trooper told her that he had to make sure that she was not driving while intoxicated.Minutes later, when the trooper was instructing Williams on the walk-and-turn field sobriety test, she told him, “I’m a judge. My son’s a Secret Service officer. I would not be driving drunk.” After the trooper handcuffed her and informed her that she did not pass the field sobriety test, she said, “Please! I’m a judge. Don’t do this to me. I did not flunk this. I didn’t flunk it!”At no time did the trooper solicit information about Williams’s judicial status or ask her to provide information that would disclose her judicial status. And the parties stipulate that if the trooper had provided sworn testimony about the incident, he would have testified that he believed that Williams mentioned her judicial status in order to avoid being arrested.Williams was charged with operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol at approximately 3:30 a.m. while traveling with three adult female passengers.Williams was initially charged with driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, a first-degree misdemeanor under 4511.19A1A. On July 22, the charge was amended to reckless operation, a fourth-degree misdemeanor under 4511.20, according to the Clermont County Municipal Court website.The Ohio Supreme Court Board of Professional Conduct held a hearing for Williams earlier this year.“Based on the parties’ stipulations and Williams’s hearing testimony, a panel of the Board of Professional Conduct found that Williams committed the charged violation and recommended that she be publicly reprimanded for her misconduct,” according to the Supreme Court. “We agree that Williams abused the prestige of her judicial office to advance her personal interests and publicly reprimand her for her misconduct.”To read more on the Supreme Court’s decision, visit http://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2017/2017-Ohio-9100.pdf