by Bruce Checefsky

     (Plain Press February 2024) Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley is campaigning on a public safety platform, citing confidence from the public as the reason to keep him in office. The two-term incumbent is running against Cleveland State University law professor Matthew Ahn in the March 19 Democratic primary.

     O’Malley and Ahn had been seeking endorsements from the Cuyahoga County Democratic Party, but in a statement issued last month by the Executive Committee, neither candidate in the race was endorsed. The non-endorsement comes amid a leftward shift among Democrats, according to Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Chair David Brock. The party also declined to endorse a candidate in 2016. O’Malley collected the most votes but lost the endorsement by less than two percent.

     As Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, O’Malley oversees 230 prosecuting attorneys, 170 administrative staff, and 15 units, which include appeals, crime strategies, economic crimes, major drug offenders, and juvenile justice.

     “The public appreciates the job my office does with local law enforcement and solving violent crimes,” said O’Malley in an interview with the Plain Press. “I think that is the key to the election.”

     Among the accomplishments he lists while serving in office is the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Detention Center, where roughly one-third, or about 1,000, of the juvenile cases each year are diverted. The juveniles are screened, evaluated, and then placed into programs on a path to productive lives.

     The Center came under fire when Tim McDevitt, a deputy court administrator for the Juvenile Division, and Mark Stanton, a former Cuyahoga County public defender, called the facility understaffed and unsafe, creating an ‘inadequate and dangerous situation’.

     O’Malley disagrees with the characterization that the center is unsafe.

     “We decreased the escalation of violence and criminal activity that we have seen in the past,” he said. “In 2019, we worked with the juvenile court judges, their staff, and my office, and it was a big accomplishment,” he added.

     O’Malley also takes credit for creating the Adult Diversion Center, a 50-bed facility with staff onsite 24/7 that works with law enforcement to help individuals exhibiting signs and symptoms of mental illness or addiction. Individuals receive care and are linked to community resources in a treatment environment rather than going to the County Jail. Oriana House operates The Center on E. 55th Street in Cleveland. Police and families can bring people in for treatment.

     “We created the Diversion Center to divert low-level offenses, keep people out of County Jail, and get them healthy again,” he said. “Safety concerns spurred the center to get people into restorative environments.”

     Juvenile bindover, a process where a juvenile court judge transfers a case to an adult court to be tried and sentenced as an adult, has become a central issue of the election campaign, brought on by his opponent.

     “Some people have made juvenile bindover a big issue. We see about 15 to 20 discretionary bindover cases every year, even less this year,” he explained. “In the larger scheme of things, we see about 3,000 juvenile cases and over 12,000 adult cases a year, and while important, juvenile bindover is not a large part of what we do.”

     O’Malley said his opponent has radical ideas about revamping the juvenile bindover program. Crime victims in Ohio have certain rights detailed in the Ohio Constitution, called Marsy’s Law or the Ohio Crime Victims’ Bill of Rights. Prosecutors must meet with victims and their families to get their input on the outcome of a case.

     “My opponent decided that he would never file a motion for a court to determine whether there should be a discretionary bindover, and frankly, that violates the Ohio Constitution,” he said.

     O’Malley added that his opponent has not practiced law or tried a case in Ohio and has only been licensed in the state since June 2022. (Ahn has practiced in the federal court system in Ohio, according to his campaign manager, Ellen Kubit.)

     “He does not realize,” said O’Malley, “that major criminal offenses like aggravated murder could be a discretionary bindover and has made a pledge that would suggest that even people accused of the most violent offenses will remain in juvenile court, which shows his lack of understanding of the law and not prioritizing the victims. We represent victims and their families.”

     After an arrest, a judge or magistrate decides to release an individual or hold them in pretrial detention while they await trial. When deciding to release someone for pretrial, a judge or magistrate can set bail and assign conditions for the individual to remain in the community. Ohio’s law sets a process for judges to deny bail.

     Cash bail guarantees that a defendant will return for a trial or hearing; otherwise, the bail gets forfeited to the government. Critics of cash bail say the system is unfair to low-income people and people of color.

     O’Malley follows the decision of the Common Pleas judges and bond commissioners when asked about cash bail reform or doing away with the practice of a cash-for-release program and would not comment other than to say that unless there is a safety issue for the victim or a flight issue, he will work with the courts.

     “[They] do what they feel is best in their particular cases. I do not play a role in it. We go with whatever the bond commissioner recommends,” he said. “If the Common Pleas judges decide to do away with cash bail, I would support them.”

     The debate continues over the proposed new Cuyahoga County Jail site. Cuyahoga County Council voted last year to purchase 72 acres in Garfield Heights for $38.7 million. The Council also voted to extend the current 0.25% sales tax set to expire in 2027. The new jail could cost more than $780 million.

     O’Malley would have preferred a site closer to Cleveland, where the jail is now. While serving on the Justice Center Steering Committee, he voted against a proposal for a shipping container storage yard at 2700 Transport Road. He later threatened to file legal action against the Cuyahoga County Council and the County Executive if they moved forward with the jail site, citing contamination and environmental issues. The site would have required installing a vapor mitigation system to prevent methane and benzene gases from collecting inside the jail.

     “Transport Road was a terrible site for the jail. I was afraid of litigation down the line where employees or prisoners would sue because of health issues,” said O’Malley, whose vote was critical to the decision. “I would have preferred to accumulate sites from the Cleveland Land Bank and get closer, but that was not my decision. We cannot put people on a hazardous site.”

Editor’s Note: An article by Bruce Checefsky titled “Matthew Ahn is running for Cuyahoga County prosecutor” appeared in the January 2024 issue of the Plain Press. If you missed the January issue of the Plain Press, you can visit https://plainpress.blog to read it.