Case Title: In re Disqualification of Swenski

Citation: 2016-Ohio-8593

Docket Number: 16-AP-099

State: ohio

Court: Ohio Supreme Court

Date: 2016-12-22T00:00:00Z

Document:
[Cite as In re Disqualification of Swenski, ___ Ohio St.3d ___, 2016-Ohio-8593.] 
 
 
 
IN RE DISQUALIFICATION OF SWENSKI. 
YOUNG v. YOUNG. 
[Cite as In re Disqualification of Swenski, ___ Ohio St.3d ___,  
2016-Ohio-8593.] 
Judges—Affidavits 
of 
disqualification—R.C. 
2701.03—Affiant 
failed 
to 
demonstrate bias or prejudice—Disqualification denied. 
(No. 16-AP-099—Decided December 22, 2016.) 
ON AFFIDAVIT OF DISQUALIFICATION in Lorain County Court of Common Pleas, 
Domestic Relations Division, Case No. 13DR077076. 
____________ 
O’CONNOR, C.J. 
{¶ 1} Defendant, James Young, has filed an affidavit with the clerk of this 
court under R.C. 2701.03 seeking to disqualify Judge Lisa Swenski from presiding 
over any further proceedings in the above-captioned domestic-relations case. 
{¶ 2} Mr. Young avers that Judge Swenski is biased against him because 
she held an emergency ex parte hearing without proper notice to Mr. Young or his 
attorney.  According to Mr. Young, the judge’s actions violated his due process 
rights and the local court rules.  Mr. Young also attached to his affidavit four 
newspaper articles about Judge Swenski, and he states that he is “concerned” about 
the information reported in the articles. 
{¶ 3} Judge Swenski has responded in writing to the affidavit, denying any 
bias against Mr. Young and explaining her reasoning for going forward with the 
hearing despite the absence of Mr. Young and his counsel.  Specifically, Judge 
Swenski believed that the emergency hearing was for the purpose of preserving 
marital property and that she was therefore permitted to hold an ex parte hearing.  
SUPREME COURT OF OHIO 
 
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The judge further notes that the newspaper articles included in Mr. Young’s 
affidavit have no connection to the underlying case. 
{¶ 4} For the reasons explained below, no basis has been established to 
order the disqualification of Judge Swenski. 
{¶ 5} As an initial matter, “[a]n affidavit of disqualification must be filed as 
soon as possible after the incident giving rise to the claim of bias and prejudice 
occurred,” and failure to do so may result in waiver of the objection, especially 
when “the facts underlying the objection have been known to the party for some 
time.”  In re Disqualification of O’Grady, 77 Ohio St.3d 1240, 1241, 674 N.E.2d 
353 (1996).  The affiant has the burden to demonstrate that the affidavit is timely 
filed.  In re Disqualification of Capper, 134 Ohio St.3d 1271, 2012-Ohio-6287, 984 
N.E.2d 1082, ¶ 11.  Here, Judge Swenski held the ex parte hearing in August 2016, 
and the newspaper articles were published in September 2016.  Yet Mr. Young 
waited until December 5—just days before the scheduled trial—to file his affidavit 
of disqualification.  Nothing in the record justifies the delay in filing the affidavit, 
and therefore Mr. Young has waived the right to disqualify Judge Swenski based 
on these allegations.  See In re Disqualification of Corrigan, 91 Ohio St.3d 1210, 
741 N.E.2d 137 (2000) (affiant waived objections to judge when incidents giving 
rise to claim of bias occurred “several months prior to the filing of the affidavit” 
and affidavit was filed “less than three weeks before the scheduled trial”). 
{¶ 6} Alternatively, even if Mr. Young had not waived these objections to 
Judge Swenski, he has failed to set forth sufficient grounds for disqualification.  Mr. 
Young is correct that a judge’s improper ex parte communications may result in a 
judge’s removal from a case.  See e.g., In re Disqualification of Sheward, 134 Ohio 
St.3d 1226, 2012-Ohio-6289, 982 N.E.2d 717, ¶ 11.  But here, Judge Swenski’s 
decision to proceed with the hearing was based on her legal conclusion that she was 
permitted to conduct an ex parte hearing under the circumstances.  Whether Judge 
Swenski’s decision was legally correct is an issue for appeal—not for an affidavit 
January Term, 2017 
 
3
of disqualification.  “[A] judge’s adverse rulings, even erroneous ones, are not 
evidence of bias or prejudice.”  In re Disqualification of Fuerst, 134 Ohio St.3d 
1267, 2012-Ohio-6344, 984 N.E.2d 1079, ¶ 14.  And nothing about Judge 
Swenski’s legal decision indicates that it was the product of bias against Mr. Young.  
See State ex rel. Pratt v. Weygandt, 164 Ohio St. 463, 469, 132 N.E.2d 191 (1956) 
(defining bias or prejudice as “a hostile feeling or spirit of ill-will or undue 
friendship or favoritism toward one of the litigants or his attorney, with the 
formation of a fixed anticipatory judgment on the part of the judge”). 
{¶ 7} In addition, Mr. Young has not sufficiently explained how the 
newspaper articles prove that Judge Swenski is biased against him.  The articles 
involve a different affidavit of disqualification filed against Judge Swenski in an 
unrelated set of cases.  R.C. 2701.03(B)(1) requires an affidavit of disqualification 
to set forth the “specific allegations on which the claim of interest, bias, prejudice, 
or disqualification is based and the facts to support each of those allegations.”  With 
respect to the newspaper articles, Mr. Young’s affidavit fails to comply with this 
statutory requirement because he did not describe with specificity how the articles 
support his claim of judicial bias.  See In re Disqualification of Flanagan, 127 Ohio 
St.3d 1236, 2009-Ohio-7199, 937 N.E.2d 1023, ¶ 4 (“Allegations that are based 
solely on hearsay, innuendo, and speculation * * * are insufficient to establish bias 
or prejudice”). 
{¶ 8} The disqualification of a judge is an extraordinary remedy.  “A judge 
is presumed to follow the law and not to be biased, and the appearance of bias or 
prejudice must be compelling to overcome these presumptions.” In re 
Disqualification of George, 100 Ohio St.3d 1241, 2003-Ohio-5489, 798 N.E.2d 23, 
¶ 5.  Those presumptions have not been overcome in this case. 
{¶ 9} The affidavit of disqualification is therefore denied. The case may 
proceed before Judge Swenski. 
________________________