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Lost pregnancies go uncounted in Ohio jails
During a yearlong investigation into the troubled Cuyahoga County Jail, a Marshall Project - Cleveland and News 5 Cleveland investigation published today found that the pregnancy outcomes of women in jail aren’t counted by the state of Ohio.
While the state requires county jails to report when an adult in custody dies, there are no reporting standards for miscarriages or stillbirths in jails, the investigation has found.
We detailed Linda Acoff’s pregnancy loss and how her treatment raises questions about prenatal health care for incarcerated women and highlights systemic lapses in medical care more broadly in the county jail.
Advocates and medical doctors call the lack of reporting for these failed pregnancies — including miscarriages and stillbirths — a blind spot for women’s health care behind bars.
A jail nurse was fired and another was given a verbal reprimand for failing to properly treat Acoff, who came to the jail’s pregnancy pod in December 2023 nearly five months pregnant. Despite complaining of pain and dripping blood, Acoff was given only extra sanitary pads and a dose of Tylenol.
After more time passed and Acoff’s symptoms persisted, she was taken to the hospital. Left inside the pregnancy pod were the remains of Acoff’s 17-week-old fetus.
Last October, members of the Ohio Jail Advisory Board, which establishes standards and policies for jails across the state, held its quarterly meeting in Columbus and briefly discussed establishing policies requiring sheriffs to report pregnancy outcomes. The topic was tabled for further discussion and no action has been taken.
– Mark Puente
Thousands of driver’s license suspensions lifted under new law
Last week, the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles removed thousands of license suspensions from the records of drivers with unpaid fines and fees. At the time, many local courts were still working through lists of suspensions to confirm which ones should be removed under the law.
As of May 8, 327 of 461 courts had completed the process. If a court didn’t respond, the state terminated any open forfeiture suspensions on the list on May 9, spokesperson Lindsey Bohrer told The Marshall Project – Cleveland.
The new law, however, has led to confusion for courts and frustration for some drivers.
Drivers who wrote in to The Marshall Project – Cleveland said they were confused about the process and, in some cases, got conflicting answers when calling the BMV or courts about whether their suspensions would be removed.
Cleveland Municipal Court Administrative Judge Michelle Earley said lifting suspensions was good for Cleveland and its residents. “It may be a lot of work, but it is a good thing to not strap people who can’t pay,” Earley said.
Cleveland’s court, however, had no license suspension removed under the law. According to the state, it didn’t have any eligible suspensions. The court did not respond to specific questions, but attorneys and public defenders said the court has not used forfeiture suspensions in years.
Instead, it uses what are called registration blocks, which prevent a person from registering a vehicle or renewing a registration. Under the law, registration blocks related to unpaid fines and fines are eligible to be removed. But state officials said Cleveland’s court issued registration blocks that are not covered by the new statute. The Cleveland Municipal Court Clerk’s Office didn't respond to multiple calls and emails about how many it might remove.
Garfield Heights Municipal Court Judge Deborah Nicastro said her court had worked its way through more than 1,000 suspensions and that people could check the court’s docket to see if their suspension had been canceled. Shaker Heights Municipal Court had only recently started using suspensions before the law was passed so it only had about 400, Clerk Steven Tomaszewski said.
Rocky River Municipal Court Clerk Deborah Comery said the court has more than 2,000 cases to work through. Comery, who has been with the court for 30 years and clerk for 18, was critical of the new law, saying it “ties the hands of the courts and the judges” in the effort to hold people accountable. “We have a whole societal approach of, ‘Awww. That’s not fair.’”
– Rachel Dissell
Disciplinary counsel wants Judge Celebrezze suspended for a year
Embattled Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Judge Leslie Ann Celebrezze should be suspended from practicing law for a year for steering hundreds of thousands of dollars in business to a longtime friend, Ohio’s Disciplinary Counsel said May 2.
The counsel recommended that six months of the punishment be dropped, if Celebrezze commits no further misconduct. If suspended, she would be allowed to return to the bench after the suspension. Her current term expires in 2027.
Disciplinary Counsel Joseph Caligiuri filed a 29-page report with the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct, which examines misconduct of the state’s lawyers and judges. The board is to make a discipline recommendation to the Ohio Supreme Court, which will decide Celebrezze’s fate.
“Instead of enhancing the public’s confidence in the integrity, impartiality, and independence of the judiciary, (Celebrezze), through manipulation and deceit, tarnished the reputation of the judiciary and undermined the public’s confidence in the institution,” Caligiuri wrote. “For this, (Celebrezze) must serve an actual suspension from the practice of law.”
Celebrezze did not respond to multiple requests for comments. She has until May 30 to file a response to the recommendations.
She and lifelong friend Mark Dottore, along with his company, Dottore Cos. LLC, are also the targets of an FBI and federal grand jury investigation.
Celebrezze’s troubles started after The Marshall Project – Cleveland in 2023 investigated the ties between her and Dottore.
Celebrezze has conceded in court papers to being in love with Dottore and assigning him receivership cases that allow him to bill wealthy divorcing couples for handling their finances while their cases are pending.
Celebrezze has admitted to steering lucrative cases to Dottore. She approved nearly $500,000 in fees for Dottore Cos. LLC between January 2017 and June 2023, The Marshall Project – Cleveland reported.
– Mark Puente
Around the 216
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A judge has issued a sweeping gag order in the case of two Canton police officers awaiting trial on reckless homicide charges regarding the 2024 death of Frank Tyson, who died after the officers left him face-down for nearly eight minutes. Canton Repository
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Three assistant U.S. attorneys are no longer assigned to represent the government in its implementation of police reforms through the consent decree reached with the city of Cleveland. The move comes about shortly after President Donald Trump’s executive order that could shutter consent decree oversight across the nation. Fox 8 News
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Akron police are conducting an internal investigation and reviewing video footage from bystanders that appears to show an officer repeatedly punching a handcuffed man during an arrest. News 5 Cleveland
