STOKES.JPG

Cleveland taxpayers must pay for Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Angela Stokes' legal defense because she is a city employee.

(Chuck Crow, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland taxpayers are picking up the tab for Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Angela Stokes' fight with the Supreme Court of Ohio, which is investigating allegations that she has abused court staff, lawyers and defendants.

The City of Cleveland is obligated to defend her because she is a city employee. The city hired attorney Richard C. Alkire to handle her defense. To date, the city has paid Alkire nearly $34,000, though this figure doesn't include recent work on behalf of Stokes.

The law department hired outside counsel to handle the defense because it also must defend the court's administrative judge, Ron Adrine, who has taken action against Stokes. Stokes has said in court papers Adrine is unfairly targeting her.

"In this situation, when we could potentially be asked to represent two judges regarding the same matter, it was prudent to hire outside counsel," Maureen Harper, the city's spokeswoman, said in a written statement to the Northeast Ohio Media Group.

Adrine last week barred Stokes from hearing criminal cases until the Supreme Court of Ohio's Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline has ruled on a 49-page complaint against Stokes filed in October by the court's Office of Disciplinary Counsel.

Stokes has denied the charges contained in the complaint and she said this week she also plans to fight Adrine's decision to bar her from hearing criminal cases. She called the move "warrantless" and one that denied her due process.

Stokes said in an email to the Northeast Ohio Media Group that she cannot comment on the cost of her defense.