State v. Hunt (In re Thomakos)

• Decision Date: 14 December 2020
• Docket Number: No. 20-AP-110,20-AP-110
• Citation: State v. Hunt (In re Thomakos), 162 Ohio St.3d 1203, 166 N.E.3d 34(Mem) (Ohio 2020)
• Parties: IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF THOMAKOS. The State of Ohio v. Hunt.
• Court: Ohio Supreme Court

162 Ohio St.3d 1203

166 N.E.3d 34 (Mem)

IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF THOMAKOS.

The State of Ohio

v.Hunt.

No. 20-AP-110

Supreme Court of Ohio.

Decided December 14, 2020

O'Connor, C.J. {¶ 1} Defendant Kolt Hunt has filed an affidavit pursuant to R.C. 2701.03 seeking to disqualify Judge Elizabeth Lehigh Thomakos from the above-referenced case.

{¶ 2} Mr. Hunt alleges that Judge Thomakos's biased comments about him at his codefendant's sentencing hearing violated his due-process rights.

{¶ 3} The chief justice's statutory authority to disqualify judges extends to those matters only in which "a proceeding [is] pending before the court." R.C. 2701.03(A). "[T]he chief justice cannot rule on an affidavit of disqualification when * * * nothing is pending before the trial court." In re Disqualification of Hayes, 135 Ohio St.3d 1221, 2012-Ohio-6306, 985 N.E.2d 501, ¶ 6. Here, Mr. Hunt states that he has appealed many of Judge Thomakos's rulings but that nothing is currently pending before her. Based on this record, there is no statutory or practical basis to order Judge Thomakos's disqualification from a seemingly inactive case. See, e.g. , In re Disqualification of Selvaggio , 156 Ohio St.3d 1301, 2019-Ohio-1826, 128 N.E.3d 264, ¶ 4 ("The chief justice will not decide an affidavit of disqualification based merely on the possibility of a remand from the court of appeals"); In re Disqualification of Sweeney , 159 Ohio St.3d 1209, 2020-Ohio-1545, 148 N.E.3d 601, ¶ 2.

{¶ 4} In addition, Mr. Hunt avers that because of the due-process violation, his underlying convictions must be reversed. Alleged due-process violations, however, may be addressed on appeal. See, e.g. , State v. Jackson , 149 Ohio St.3d 55, 2016-Ohio-5488, 73 N.E.3d 414, ¶ 43 ("If the record evidence indicates that the trial was infected by judicial bias, the remedy is a new trial"), citing State v. Dean , 127 Ohio St.3d 140, 2010-Ohio-5070, 937 N.E.2d 97, ¶ 2. In deciding an affidavit...