Hamilton County prosecutors did nothing wrong when they matched names of potential jurors to a database of criminal records accessible only to law-enforcement officers, a judge determined Monday.

The fact that prosecutors occasionally run jurors through the regional database came to light last week during Timothy Jordan's murder trial in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court.

Jordan's lawyer, Robert Ranz, said his client's rights to equal protection were violated because prosecutors used the database to run criminal background checks only on potential jurors who were African-American.

Ranz argued that it gave prosecutors an unfair advantage and he didn't find out about use of the Regional Crime Information Center until after prosecutors sought to have the jurors dismissed.

During a hearing Monday on Jordan's request for a mistrial, Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Judith Mullen said prosecutors rarely run a juror's criminal background.

"It's not a routine thing; there is no office policy," Mullen said.

During jury selection, Mullen said some jurors' answers to questions raised her suspicion.

"In this situation, the records were run based on suspicions that arose from routine questions" during jury selection, said Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Mark Schweikert, who is presiding over Jordan's trial.

"Their suspicions were sufficient to be race-neutral reasons."

He added: "It certainly would have been less controversial if the state made their disclosure immediately."

The vast database of criminal records, maintained and operated by the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, is available to law-enforcement agencies.

Ranz said prosecutors checked the criminal records of three of the four African-Americans who were in a pool of potential jurors during the jury-selection process, ignoring all of the other potential jurors.

In his request for a mistrial, Ranz suggested that prosecutors targeted African-Americans in hopes of keeping them off the jury in Jordan's trial. Jordan, who is African-American, is on trial for aggravated murder, accused of fatally shooting RaeMone Williams in the West End on April 22.

Two of the three people checked were found to have past criminal convictions, which they had said they didn't have.

Convicted felons can serve on juries, but potential jurors may be dismissed if they are found to be lying.

Carol Tonges, who works for the crime information center, appeared in court. While she did not testify, she was prepared to explain that the center should be used in the administration of criminal justice. She also planned to say that a prosecutor's use of the database by looking at a juror's background would be considered proper use of the system.

"If you follow (prosecutors') reasoning, you could run anyone's records," Ranz said in his argument. "Mine, yours, the bailiff, the court reporter, anyone involved.

"I think we all see problems with that," Ranz said. "Jurors are coming here voluntarily.

"They should not have their right to privacy violated."

After Schweikert refused to declare a mistrial, Jordan's trial resumed.

E-mail scoolidge@enquirer.com