Wednesday, April 14, 1999
Court OKs way judges elected
Appeals panel turns back blacks' challenge
BY BEN L. KAUFMAN
The Cincinnati Enquirer
At-large elections for county judges in Ohio survived another racial challenge Tuesday.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit said overwhelming white majorities do not unfairly swamp black voters' choices in Hamilton County and other urban communities.
The three-judge panel in Cincinnati said African-American voters, led by Cincinnati Democrat and former state Rep. William Mallory Sr., failed to prove their case.
The unanimous decision affirmed a verdict for the state of Ohio by U.S. District Judge George Smith in Columbus.
“There still is no question in my mind that race is a significant factor,” responded James Hardiman, a Cleveland attorney for the black voters.
He is considering whether to appeal to the entire 6th Circuit or U.S. Supreme Court.
Tuesday's decision “leaves a moral cloud hanging over Ohio,” Mr. Mallory said.
While he awaits his attorneys' advice on further appeals, Mr. Mallory said he plans to hold county political parties accountable for correcting the “miserable situation.”
The 6th Circuit said even if Mr. Mallory proved white bloc voting violated African-Americans' rights, federal courts were powerless “to impose a remedy because all potential remedies would impermissibly alter the structure of Ohio's judicial system.”
With that, Judges Eugene E. Siler Jr., Martha Craig Daughtrey and Ronald Lee Gilman offered a response to the black voters' appeal.
First, they reviewed criteria for proving at-large ballots violate the Voting Rights Act:
• White bloc voting usually defeats African-American judicial favorites.
• An alternative must create judicial districts with a majority of African-American voters.
• Those voters must be politically cohesive.
Although preferred candi dates did not have to be African-American, that phrase became synonymous with African-American candidates during the life of the litigation.
For instance, defense attorneys said the paucity of black judges does not prove countywide ballots deny African-Americans an equal opportunity to elect their choices.
Rather, state lawyers and Judge Smith concluded, race is “one of the least significant” factors in judicial elections. Party affiliation, experience, name recognition and endorsements are more important.
When they are supported by the majority political party, “black judicial candidates in Ohio can, and routinely, do, win,” state lawyers said.
Writing for the court, Judge Gilman found “no legal support” for the argument that at-large elections have a chilling effect on judicial aspirations of black lawyers.
“Based upon the statistics offered by both sides ... African American attorneys in the challenged districts are actually more likely to be elected to the bench than are their Caucasian colleagues.”
Judge Gilman also disputed the argument that an absence of black judges suggests an absence of impartial justice for African-Americans.
In Hamilton County, the class-action targets the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals and Common Pleas Court. Elsewhere, municipal courts are included.
Mr. Mallory's evidence includes the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals (no African-Americans; six whites) and Hamilton County Common Pleas Court (one African-American; 19 whites).
As further proof of illegal dilution of black votes in 80 percent white Hamilton County, black voters cite one-on-one contests when African-Americans and whites seek the same judgeship. They say African-Americans lose even when black voters overwhelmingly support a black candidate.
Other urban Ohio counties suffer similar problems in their municipal courts, according to the complaint, but that was resolved in Hamilton County after an earlier, similar suit.
It replaced countywide voting with seven electoral districts, including two with enough black voters to assure the election of African-Americans to the municipal court.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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