|
CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OHIO---The trial of judicial whistleblower Elsebeth Baumgartner, criminally charged for expressing her opinion about a judge and his rulings, has been postponed until May 10.
The former lawyer and pharmacist had been scheduled to begin a jury trial Monday on 18 criminal charges of intimidation, retaliation, falsification and possession of a criminal tool—a laptop computer. The charges are based on the complaint of retired visiting judge Richard Markus who said she intimidated him by sending him emails asking him to properly perform his judicial duties, criticizing his past actions and rulings and accusing him of case-fixing.
Baumgartner was arraigned Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court before Judge Shirley Strickland Safford on a new indictment obtained last week by Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor Daniel Kasaris, charging her with 14 more counts of intimidation, retaliation and falsification for alleged postings on her own blog.
All told, Baumgartner is now facing 32 felony counts of intimidation and retaliation for expressing opinions critical of governmental officials and in particular, Markus. Markus is also the complainant against her in 34 contempt charges pending in Ottawa County and she faces charges of felony fleeing, grand theft of her own corporate vehicle, resisting arrest and other charges in Erie County.
The new complaint was filed against her by her former partner, Bryan DuBois and his wife, Mandy, and resulted in the governmental seizure of four of her computers containing business and personal records in addition to materials gathered for her defense and most importantly, evidence gathered by her over the last six years pertaining to governmental and judicial corruption.
Kasaris initially stated that the computers would be returned to her by the end of the year but after the defense filed a motion to expedite their return, Kasaris then reportedly told Baumgartner’s attorney that he wouldn’t be returning them at all and that they would be taken by forfeiture.
Asset forfeiture can only be implemented after a defendant is adjudged guilty as Baumgartner is constitutionally guaranteed the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
In that Markus and Cuyahoga County government have claimed that Baumgartner has falsely accused Markus of case fixing and corruption, the burden of proof will be upon the prosecution to prove that Markus didn’t act improperly and that Baumgartner acted criminally in exercising her free speech rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.
DuBois is a co-defendant in the pending case against Baumgartner from charges brought last July against her and DuBois, publishers of the blog, ErieVoices.com which focused on governmental and judicial corruption in northern Ohio.
Both DuBois and his wife have now become a governmental witness against Baumgartner and DuBois has shut down the blog and denied Baumgartner, a principal in Arbor Group, LLC which owns the business, any access to the website.
Baumgartner was arraigned on the new charges and her existing bond on the pending charges has been extended as surety for the new charges. The purpose of bail is merely to insure a defendant’s appearance at court proceedings, it cannot legally be used to punish a defendant.
Her attorney, Jeffrey Kelleher, filed new motions Monday to suppress prior statements by Baumgartner under the Sixth Amendment and a motion to compel discovery as Kasaris and the prosecutor’s office have failed to turn over materials in the case to the defense.
The prosecution filed their response to the defense’s earlier suppression motion and a motion to exclude the opinion testimony of Markus.
As of Monday morning, Saffold had not issued any decisions in any of the motions previously filed by the defense.
For more information concerning this case, see the sitemap at www.northcountrygazette.org and http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/032506Baumgartner.html
3-27-06
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
|
