The Ohio Disciplinary Counsel, the agency that investigates judges and lawyers accused of misconduct, has dismissed a complaint against a Franklin County municipal judge who was involved with an improper “ex parte” phone conversation last year.
Municipal Judge Stephanie Mingo initially declined to identify Columbus Mayor Andrew J. Ginther as the city official who had inappropriately contacted her last year and instructed her how to rule in a lawsuit filed by the city.
The complaint against Mingo had apparently been filed by the creator of a Columbus political newsletter. Donald J. Byrnes, who operates “The Rooster” newsletter that largely focuses on insider Ohio Statehouse and local news, posted on social media site “X” Friday a letter addressed to him from state Disciplinary Counsel Joseph Caligiuri stating that Byrnes’ complaint, filed in January, had been dismissed and the case closed.
It’s unclear if there are other cases still pending against Mingo regarding the incident, which happened last October when the city filed a lawsuit before Mingo attempting to shutter a new intercity bus depot that had recently opened at a former gas station on the Hilltop. Caligiuri’s letter stated that his office had already been investigating the Mingo incident when it received Byrnes’ complaint.