Franklin County judge denies allegation she coerced father into parenting agreement

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Judge Kim A. Browne poses for a photo in her courtroom at Domestic Relations & Juvenile Court in downtown Columbus on June 9, 2021.

Franklin County judge denies claims by Ohio Supreme Court disciplinary lawyer that she dictated the terms of a parenting agreement in a divorce case and demanded that the father sign it without consulting his lawyer .

An attorney for family relations / juvenile court judge Kim A. Browne this week filed a formal response to the allegations, saying Browne had not issued a directive or dictated the terms of the parenting agreement the couple signed.

The judge “was not present for any of the negotiations or for the drafting of the agreement,” according to the response filed by Michael Close, the attorney representing Browne.

The complaint against Browne was filed on December 15 by the Joseph Caligiuri Disciplinary Board before the state Professional Conduct Board. He accuses him of having violated three provisions of the judicial code of conduct, including one which states that judges “shall not act in a manner which compels a party to settle”.

The board of directors will hear the case and recommend to the Ohio Supreme Court whether Browne faces disciplinary sanctions, which can range from a public reprimand to the loss or suspension of his lawyer’s license. .

The incident happened on February 3, 2021, when Browne, a 19-year-old judge, held a hearing on a man’s request for a civil protection order for domestic violence against his wife during their legal proceedings. divorced.

After rejecting the man’s civil protection claim, Browne announced that “she intended to order a week / week parental leave” for the estranged couple, the complaint says.

The complaint alleges that despite the absence of the husband’s attorney, Browne asked the wife’s attorney to draft an entry in the divorce case regarding parenting time, on the terms the judge gave him. dictations.

Browne “told the parties they couldn’t leave the courthouse until they signed the entry she dictated or made their own parenting agreement,” according to the complaint.

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The estranged couple and the wife’s lawyer stepped out into the hallway, where, according to the complaint, the husband “signed the entrance because he felt he had no other choice.”

Close told The Dispatch that the judge denies the allegation of the complaint that she was told at the hearing that the father had a lawyer.

“Until this complaint was filed, the judge had no idea the father had a lawyer,” Close said.

This and other allegations could become a situation “he said / she said” because, according to Close’s response, “there is no official record of this proceeding due to a malfunction in the system.”

Although the complaint states that the child was in the father’s custody at the time of the hearing, “there was no court order granting (the father) possession, care or custody of the child. “Close wrote.

Because the couple’s child was born before their marriage, under Ohio law the mother had full custody rights, he told The Dispatch.

According to Close, a former Franklin County Court of Appeals and Common Pleas Judge, Browne had good reason to encourage parties at the hearing to reach a parenting agreement.

“I don’t think anyone understood that what happened at the end of this civil protection hearing was that the mother had the right to leave this courtroom with the child and that Dad wouldn’t have seen him again for a few months, later, when there was a custody hearing, “he said.” I think that put the judge in the untenable position of have to say, ‘Listen guys, we have to fix this because, in the best interests of the child, the child shouldn’t be deprived of seeing both parents.’ ‘

Browne was appointed to a vacant bench position in 2002 by then-Ohio Governor Bob Taft, a Republican. She won the election that year to complete the term and was reelected three times as an approved Republican. She is expected to run for another six-year term in November.

In June, Browne announced his intention to switch from Republican to Democrat in a case filed with the county electoral council.

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@johnfutty

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Franklin County Judge: Parental consent was not forced on the father

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