COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court is considering whether an Akron judge be publicly reprimanded for her conduct following the arrest of a lawyer who practiced in her courtroom.

The Office of the Disciplinary Counsel recently made its arguments to the Ohio Supreme Court. The case is one of several heard recently by the Supreme Court. No immediate decision is expected. It can take weeks to months before opinions by the court's justices are released.

The Supreme Court gave this synopsis:

The case involves Akron Municipal Judge Joy Malek Oldfield, who was in a car in February 2012 with public defender Catherine Loya following a party, according to the court. Copley Township police, seeing the car parked in a shopping center parking lot, approached and asked Loya to submit to a field sobriety test.

When Loya refused, she was arrested. She and Oldfield were taken to the police station, and afterward were returned to Oldfield’s home. At the suggestion of Oldfield’s husband, Loya remained in the home for the next several days.

Loya at the time was assigned to Oldfield’s courtroom and continued to practice there for the next few weeks until she was moved as part of a normal rotation to another courtroom.

Joy Malek Oldfield

The Board of Commissioners on Grievances & Discipline recommended that Oldfield be publicly reprimanded for not disqualifying herself cases in which Loya was the public defender after the incident occurred and while Loya was living at Oldfield's residence.

But in its report, the board concluded that the Disciplinary Counsel's investigation did not find enough proof to support a claim that Oldfield had tried used her title to prevent Loya's arrest and recommended that alleged violation be dismissed. The Disciplinary Counsel disagreed.

Attorneys for Oldfield, in their brief, acknowledge that Oldfield told police she was a judge, but that she did not do so until an officer asked her whether she was a lawyer. She felt compelled to respond honestly to the question.

They argue that one officer repeatedly and sarcastically referred to her as a judge and that because of his tone, Oldfield felt forced to state to him that she did not want any special treatment because of her position.

Northeast Ohio Media Group will periodically look at cases before the Supreme Court. All cases can be viewed through the online docket on the Supreme Court's website.