Tracie Hunter's Law-Breaking: Judicial Abuse Of Power

Tracie Hunter, a former judge, was convicted of having an unlawful interest in a public contract, a fourth-degree felony. The charge was related to Hunter using her position as a judge to give her brother, a juvenile court employee facing termination, confidential documents. She was sentenced to six months in jail but was allowed to remain out of jail while she pursued appeals. In 2019, a judge ruled that her sentence must begin, and she ended up spending 75 days behind bars. Hunter maintains her innocence, claiming the charges were fabricated after she tried to expose the alleged mishandling of juvenile cases by the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office.

Backdated documents

Tracie Hunter, a former judge, was accused of backdating documents to prevent prosecutors from appealing her decisions.

In late 2013, county prosecutors voiced suspicions about backdated documents in Hunter's court. On 13 September 2013, Assistant County Prosecutor Bill Breyer reported that someone had backdated documents in Judge Hunter's court. He claimed that two documents filed and signed by the judge were not created until weeks after they were dated. This prevented prosecutors from appealing her court's decisions.

The private company responsible for the court's computer operation determined that the documents in question were not created until several weeks after they were dated. This meant that the prosecutors were unable to appeal the decisions made by Hunter's court within the required timeframe.

On 17 September 2013, County Prosecutor Joe Deters filed a motion requesting special prosecutors to investigate the issues in Hunter's court. On 10 January 2014, a grand jury indicted Hunter on multiple felony charges, including two counts of tampering with evidence and two counts of forgery, among other charges.

Ultimately, Hunter was convicted of only one crime: "improper interest in a public contract". This charge was related to Hunter giving confidential documents to her brother, a juvenile court employee who was facing disciplinary action.

Hunter served a six-month jail sentence and was allowed to remain out of jail while she pursued appeals. She was also suspended from practising law and is currently seeking reinstatement of her law license.

Gave confidential documents to her brother

Tracie Hunter, a former judge, was convicted of giving confidential documents to her brother. At the time, her brother was a juvenile court employee who was in the process of being fired. Hunter was indicted on multiple felony charges, including tampering with evidence, forgery, theft while in office, and misuse of a credit card. However, she was only convicted of a single count related to giving confidential documents to her brother.

During the trial, Hunter's brother, Steven Hunter, testified that his sister gave him the documents, which he used in his disciplinary hearing. Hunter's defence claimed that the documents were part of the public record. Nonetheless, the jury found Hunter guilty of "unlawful interest in a public contract", a fourth-degree felony. This charge specifically related to Hunter using her position as a judge to give her brother access to confidential documents.

The jury could not reach a verdict on the other eight counts Hunter faced, and those charges were later dropped. As a result of her conviction, Hunter was sentenced to six months in jail, along with one year of community service and monetary compensation for the court's costs. She remained free while pursuing appeals, but in 2019, a judge ruled that her sentence must be served, and she ended up spending 75 days in jail.

Hunter has maintained her innocence throughout the process, claiming that the charges against her were fabricated and that she was targeted for trying to expose mishandling of juvenile cases and for her work in instituting reforms within the juvenile justice system. She has also attributed her harsh punishment to racial bias. Despite the conviction, Hunter has continued to fight to clear her name and address the injustices she believes she faced as a Black judge in the Ohio justice system.

Unlawful interest in a public contract

Tracie Hunter, the former Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge, was convicted of a felony unlawful interest in a public contract. This charge was related to the case of her brother, Steven Hunter, who was employed as a corrections officer at the Hamilton County Juvenile Court's Youth Center.

Steven Hunter was accused of "hitting" a person at the center and was facing a hearing before the center's Disciplinary Committee. Prior to this hearing, Tracie Hunter allegedly demanded "all documentation of every incident and every employee" related to the incident from the center's superintendent. She then passed these documents to her brother, who shared them with his attorney. The attorney declined to accept most of the documents, deeming it "unethical" to do so.

Tracie Hunter was indicted on eight felony counts, including tampering with evidence, forgery, theft while in office, and misusing a credit card issued by the court, in addition to the "unlawful interest" charge. She pleaded "not guilty" to all charges during her arraignment.

The jury found Hunter guilty on the count of "unlawful interest in a public contract" and deadlocked on all other counts. After the verdict, County Judge Norbert Nadel admonished Hunter, stating that she had engaged in "serious ethical violations" while serving as a judge. These violations included nepotism, improper judicial temperament, tardiness in rendering decisions, and denying public access to her court.

As a result of her conviction, Hunter was sentenced to six months in jail, one year of community service, and monetary compensation for the court's costs. She served her sentence in 2020, after staying 75 days in jail, paying $34,000 in court costs, and completing the court-ordered community service.

In November 2023, the Ohio Supreme Court indefinitely suspended Hunter's law license. However, due to the length of time since her conviction, the court allowed her to apply for reinstatement immediately.

Tampering with evidence

Tracie Hunter, a former judge, was accused of tampering with evidence. The specific details of this accusation include the backdating of documents to prevent prosecutors from appealing decisions against them. This was discovered when Assistant County Prosecutor Bill Breyer reported that someone had backdated documents in Hunter's court. The private company responsible for the court's computer operation determined that two documents filed and signed by Hunter were created weeks after they were dated. This prevented prosecutors from appealing her court's decisions.

As a result of these findings, two special prosecutors were appointed to investigate the allegations. This was not the only accusation levelled at Hunter, as she also faced charges of forgery, unlawful interest in a public contract, theft while in office, and misuse of a credit card issued by the court.

In January 2014, a grand jury indicted Hunter on eight felony charges, including two counts of tampering with evidence. The tampering with evidence charges specifically related to the backdating of documents, which was done to prevent prosecutors from filing appeals within the allowed timeframe. This is a serious offence as it interferes with the legal process and can impact the outcome of cases.

Ultimately, Hunter was convicted of only one crime: improper interest in a public contract. A jury found her guilty of providing confidential documents to her brother, who was a juvenile court employee facing disciplinary action. The charges related to tampering with evidence did not result in a conviction, as the jury deadlocked on these counts. However, the initial accusations and investigation into Hunter's conduct brought attention to potential ethical breaches and raised questions about the integrity of the judicial process.

Forgery

Tracie Hunter, former judge of Hamilton County Juvenile Court, was indicted on multiple felony charges by a Hamilton County grand jury. One of the accusations was that Hunter backdated documents to prevent prosecutors from appealing her decisions. On the 10th of January 2014, she was indicted on two counts of forgery, among other charges.

The forgery charges against Hunter were related to allegations that she had backdated documents in her court. Assistant County Prosecutor Bill Breyer claimed that someone had backdated documents, and that two documents filed and signed by Hunter were not created until several weeks after they were dated. This prevented prosecutors from appealing her court's decisions.

The private company responsible for the court's computer operation supported these claims, determining that the documents in question were not created until weeks after they were dated. As a result, Hunter was charged with two counts of forgery.

Ultimately, Hunter was convicted of only one crime: improper interest in a public contract, for giving her brother access to confidential documents. The jury could not agree on verdicts for the other eight counts, including the two counts of forgery, and the remaining charges were later dropped.

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