Originally Posted - November 23, 2006

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COLUMBUS-The double standards that exist in Ohio, particularly considering the use of e-mails, is becoming more and more evident, perhaps even highlighting what appears to be gender discrimination in that it appears that females are treated more harshly and differently in the judicial system than males.

Disbarred attorney Elsebeth Baumgartner is currently facing 75 years in prison, after already serving over a year in total, for using a computer to send e-mails to register her dissent and criticism of government.

She is due to be sentenced Tuesday, Nov. 28 by visiting judge David Faulkner for 27 counts of contempt lodged against her by retiring visiting judge Richard Markus, for sending him emails, criticizing his past rulings and asking him to adhere to the law. Each count carries a sentence of 30 days in jail.

But when a male Cleveland attorney sent an e-mail to Ohio's 88 election boards about a voter ID lawsuit in which he represents two groups challenging Ohio's voting laws, even though doing so is a violation of law, a federal judge refused to find him in contempt.

Although U.S. District Judge Algenon Marbley said that the actions of Subodh Chandra were "an act of unparalleled poor judgment", he didn't find them to be a deliberate effort to defy the court and therefore refused to find him in contempt.

The judge said that he was verbally reprimanding Chandra on the record but ultimately there was no finding of ethical misconduct and the reference to the verbal reprimand was removed from the hearing minutes.

The state had asked the court to find Chandra in contempt and to order him to pay attorney fees.

Chandra told the court that "it's plain to me now that my mind went off track in this case".

No contempt, no fine, no threat of jail, no threat of disbarment for the male attorney.

Meanwhile, Baumgartner faces more than two years in jail for contempt for sending e-mails to Judge Markus. 11-23-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette