Plough Left Legacy of Unfinished Cases

Hundreds of cases left unresolved by previous judge are slowly being disposed of

Hundreds of unfinished cases are what remain of John Plough's embattled term as a Portage County Municipal Court judge in Kent. Plough, who was elected to the bench in 2005, left in 2009 with his only term marred by complaints filed against him by attorneys and judges and tainted by reprimands from the Ohio Supreme Court. His exit was followed in July 2010 with the one-year suspension of his law license by the Ohio Supreme Court, which ruled that Plough jeopardized the judicial process by, among other charges, failing to keep adequate records. The current Kent judge, Portage County Municipal Court Judge Kevin Poland, took office in 2010 to find close to 700 unresolved cases on his desk awaiting action. Poland declined to comment on Plough'…

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Around Town and Gown

How We Reported the Kent Court Case Backlog Story

Hundreds of cases from past judge left unresolved are slowly being disposed of

Over the past three months, Kent Patch has been reporting on the hundreds of unfinished cases left by a former judge in the Kent Municipal Court. Kent Patch started to investigate the situation after learning some cases that started in the Kent court were languishing without judicial action. The reporting started with multiple in-person and phone conversations with the current Kent judge, Kevin Poland. Our conversations with Poland were followed by interviews with Portage County court personnel, local law enforcement and the public information director for the Ohio Supreme Court. The former judge responsible for the backlog of cases, John Plough, did not respond to an interview request from Kent Patch. The investigation culminated with the…

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Kent Court Working Through Backlog of Old Cases

Hundreds of cases from past judge left unresolved are slowly being disposed of

Hundreds of back court cases are slowly being reprocessed by staff at the Kent Municipal Courthouse and Portage County Municipal Court Judge Kevin Poland. Close to 700 pre-trial diversion cases were left in need of action by former Kent Municipal Court Judge John Plough, who did not seek re-election to the bench after a term marred by complaints to, and admonitions from, the Ohio Supreme Court. Poland said the pre-trial diversion cases numbered about 680 at one point. In many of Plough's pre-trial diversion cases, defendants agreed to plead guilty for the promise of eventual dismissal of their charges provided they completed several court-ordered tasks. The pre-trial diversion cases are mostly charges of underage drinking, disorderly …

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