Judge resigns strangely

It was the right thing to do. Sandusky County Common Pleas Court Judge John Dewey's announcement Friday that he would resign — as soon as a replacement can be named to finish up his term, which ends this year — was the appropriate course of action, the reasons he gave notwithstanding. The Republican primary race to succeed Dewey will be decided May 15, when the elections board finishes counting at least 1,379 absentee ballots, along with determining the validity of another 404 provisional ballots and certifying the election. Just 25 votes separated attorneys John Ickes and Cynthia Welty in the race, a virtual tie with so many votes outstanding. Dewey, a Republican, said he was not quitting due to persistent questions about his actions overseeing the criminal prosecution of now ex-county prosecutor Tim Braun. A chorus of critics contended the trial of Braun, who was accused of molesting and sexually harassing women who worked in the prosecutor's office, and filing a false criminal complaint in an effort to intimidate and incriminate them, was fixed to favor Braun and shortchange his victims. Dewey was chin up, to his neck, in the serious problems related to that criminal case, and he should have resigned because of that. The fact that statements attributed to the judge stipulated a specific denial from him that any "collusion" to ease Braun out of office occurred suggests more so that it did happen than it does to alleviate concerns. And there should be a concern, indeed, if the court was manipulated, hiding in plain sight, to derail justice for victims on behalf of a court associate by his courthouse friends and associates. In this courtroom drama, some were pawns but others were players. The judge, by refusing to immediately disclose his conflict and excuse himself from Braun's case in April 2019, by secretly appointing Braun's friend — court administrator Brock Kimmet — to oversee the court case and ordering that all records be kept secret, was a player in this distorted case. Dewey's explanation for his resignation he gave to a local newspaper — that it is due to the pandemic — does not have a ring of authenticity. It is more revealing, in our view, than it is accurate. The county Republican Party central committee, Dewey's party, will select a successor, and that person will likely be Ickes or Welty, whichever is declared the winner when the vote from the primary election is certified next week. He or she will be left with the dirty droppings of a court so easily compromised and will have a task of considerable proportion reclaiming the court's integrity. Over the last four years, the county's lead detective, its sheriff and the county prosecutor all have been removed from office with criminal charges. Now, a judge quits. There's a rebuilding that needs to happen, and that will start with a full explanation of what happened in the Braun case, an answer to the question whether a judge can make secret appointments outside the boundaries of law and what steps, exactly, are needed to restore integrity, in full, from the bench.