MANSFIELD: Judge Angela Stokes Should Temporarily Step Off The Bench

 

By Mansfield Frazier

There isn’t a more venerated, beloved and respected political name in all of America than that of “Stokes.” Brothers Carl B. and Louis, sons of a single mother who worked as a domestic, came out of Cleveland’s Outhwaite projects and rose to pinnacles of prominence few siblings outside of the Kennedy’s have achieved.

Considering where the Stokes brothers started off in life (they were so poor, the family had only one bed for the three of them before they moved to the projects), compared to the very wealthy Kennedy clan, their story is all the more compelling … and certainly worthy of a biopic at some point.

Back in the day I took some very expensive pool table lessons learning the finer points of the game of one-pocket from Carl at Wells’ Pool Hall on Carnegie Avenue. But I didn’t feel too bad since it was rare that anyone else in town could beat him either at this most challenging of pool games. Years later, when I was hustling in the mean streets of New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas, I always could kick up a decent bankroll due to those dues I paid … those hard-learned lessons. Thanks Carl, wherever you are.

All of which makes writing about the situation regarding Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Angela Stokes (the daughter of Lou) all the more difficult for me. But the Disciplinary Counsel of the Ohio Supreme Court recently recommended that she be disciplined for what it calls “abusive treatment of nearly everyone that comes into her courtroom.”

Her erratic behavior on the bench has been the subject of persistent whispers around the Justice Center for years, but due to her father’s stature and political clout — but really, who can fault a father for protecting one of his daughters? —nothing much ever came of the rumors until the recent report was made public.

The 49-page report also states that Judge Stokes “may be suffering from a mental illness that substantially impairs her ability to perform her duties as a judicial officer,” and goes on to suggest that she should receive a psychiatric examination. This is tough stuff.

Undoubtedly phone lines are still being set ablaze as you read this, as tremendous political pressure is no doubt being applied to quell and quite the situation; but Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor is one tough, fair jurist and probably is immune to such machinations. She knows that she simply must put the right of defendants to receive fair treatment in court above the protecting of a politically powerful name.

Rumors have already begun to circulate in the black community that the charges against Judge Stokes are racially motivated, which is sheer and utter nonsense. Ninety percent of the judges on the Muny Bench are black … why would anyone want to single out Judge Stokes? For her defenders to play the race card in a matter of such import is scurrilous in the extreme, and cheapens all of the gains the civil rights movement fought to win.

The problem is, people with dementia don’t know they have dementia; for if they knew they had dementia, they wouldn’t be demented, now would they? But legions of defendants, lawyers and court personnel who have been subjected to the abuse can’t all be wrong, can they? Sadly, the demented can see conspiracies all around them … even when none exist.

Once the media begins to dig into just how much Judge Stokes has cost the city with her aberrant behavior the public is going to turn on her, in spite of her vaulted name. Which, by the way, keeps getting her elected by overwhelming margins in spite of the fact every bar association in the county consistently gives her a ranking of “not approved” at election time. It could very well be that her powerful last name abets her suspected illness, and encourages her impervious courtroom antics. Indeed, she acts as if she’s bulletproof; immune to censure.

But the simple fact is, mental illness can strike in any family at any time, and it’s nothing that should cause shame. But when it afflicts someone who operates so much in the public eye, someone who is entrusted with the enormous power a sitting judge wields … this issue should not turn into a protracted legal battle.

To protect the legacy and reputation of her good family name, Angela Stokes needs to immediately step off the bench and seek medical treatment; after which, a determination can be made in regards to her future as a jurist.

Even the powerful Lou Stokes won’t be able to stop this train wreck from happening if his daughter balks, digs her heels in, and refuses treatment. I’m sincerely praying this doesn’t get any more ugly than it already is.

 

From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://NeighborhoodSolutionsInc.com.

 

 

 

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2 Responses to “MANSFIELD: Judge Angela Stokes Should Temporarily Step Off The Bench”

  1. Dear Sir , I was recently thrown out of Angela Stokes’s courtroom. I am a 56 years old black woman who had accompanied her 19 year old son to court for a traffic ticket. Everything that you have read about her behavior is absolutely true. We were there for two days the first one is when I’d been escorted to the elevators by her bailiff. Her reason is that i was part of ” shenanigans”, the young lady sitting behind me had whispered how cold she was, and i simply turned around and handed her my jacket, i knew not to say anything in the courtroom. Well the girl and the young man were put in a holding cell and i was asked to leave the floor, after she asked me if i had any business in her courtroom . Well my son is 19, and grown but i wanted to be there . On our second visit i saw her repeatedly put people out and have people put in holding cells, talk on the phone taking care of court business, Ive never seen a judge on the phone like that before. Both days we were there until almost 6:00. Angela Stokes needs to stop riding on the Stokes’s fine name and go and have a long time out. People need to stop being afraid of her and stop voting her back in. That lady is a real nut!!!!

  2. I HAVE BEEN IN COURT 8X FOR A 4TH DEGREE MISDEMEANOR. THE WOMAN SENT ME TO DRUG AND ALCOHOL ASSESSMENT, A PSYCH EVALUATION, 1 YEAR OF PROBATION WITH URINALYSES 2X A MONTH, (NO EVIDENCE OF ILLEGAL DRUG OR LEGAL ALCOHOL WAS EVER LINKED TO MY CASE) AND CONTINUED PORNOGRAPHY COUNSELING. 1 WOULD BE IN HER ROOM FOR 7-10 HOURS BEFORE I WAS SEEN ON ANY ONE OF THOSE 8X. I WAS PLACED IN JAIL FOR 2 DAYS FOR THE “DOOR SLAM” THING AND A DIFFERENT TWO DAY SENTENCE BECAUSE SHE DIDN’T BELIEVE SOMETHING I SAID THAT MY PROBATION OFFICER TOLD ME. THIS WAS A 4TH DEGREE MISDEMEANOR. IT DID NOT WARRANT ALL THESE SANCTIONS. FRUSTRATED AT THE POSSBILITY OF HAVING TO DEAL WITH HER ANOTHER 9 MONTHS ON PROBATION, I PETITIONED THE COURT TO REVOKE MY PROBATION AND LET ME DO THE 22 DAYS IN JAIL. IN ESSENCE I TOOK BACK CONTROL OF MY LIFE AND REMOVED HER FROM HAVING ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT. I WOULD DO IT AGAIN IN A HEARTBEAT. IN FRONT OF THE PUBLIC, SHE PLACED MY PUBLIC DEFENDER IN THE HOLDING CELL AFTER HAVING A JUVENILE SHOUTING MATCH WITH HIM, SHE HAS ARGUED WITH THE PROSECUTING ATTORNEY AND OTHER ATTORNEYS FOR QUESTIONING A DECISION SHE MADE. I HAVE SEEN HER RIDICULE THE BAILIFFS SEVERAL TIMES CLAIMING THAT SHE HAS “TO DO THE BAILIFFS JOB”. THIS DIMINISHES THE PERCEIVED AUTHORITY OF THE STAFF WHEN THE PUBLIC IS EXPOSED TO THIS PUBLIC SCOLDING. 27 BAILIFF CHANGES COMPARED TO THE OTHER 12 JUDGES’ 7 CHANGES COMBINED, IS NOT REASONABLE. THE ROTATION IN COURT STAFF IS SPECIAL WHEN IT COMES TO HER AND NO OTHER JUDGE HAS A NEED FOR ANY SPECIAL AND ADJUSTED ROTATION. SHE IS A VERY HARD WORKER AND SMART AND THOROUGH. I VOTED FOR THIS WOMAN SOLELY BECAUSE OF HER NAME WHICH I AM EMBARRASSINGLY ASHAMED. BUT IF SHE SURVIVES THIS LATEST INVESTIGATION, WHICH SHE PROBABLY WILL, I WILL DEDICATE MY TIME TO SUPPORT OPPOSING CANDIDATES IN 2018 SHOULD I LIVE THAT LONG. ALTHOUGH THOROUGH, SMART AND HARDWORKING, SHE HAS NO BUSINESS WHATSOEVER ON ANY BENCH. SHE SHOULD RETIRE OR FIND EMPLOYMENT WHERE SHE HAS NO CONTROL OVER PEOPLE’S LIVES…SHE COULD BE A VERY GOOD EMPLOYEE IN A TOTALLY DIFFERENT FIELD. THE SUPREME COURT IS RIGHT, SHE NEEDS A PSYCH EVALUATION BECAUSE SHE REFUSES TO SEE HER PART IN ALL THE COMPLAINTS… AND THINKS THERE IS NO PROBLEM. EVERY JUDGE HAS COMPLAINTS BY VIRTUE OF THEIR JOB…BUT NO ONE HAS ANYTHING REMOTELY NEAR THE AMOUNT OF COMPLAINTS THE DISHONORABLE JUDGE ANGELA R. STOKES RECEIVES. NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO GO THRU THE MENTAL BASHING CONSTANTLY ISSUED BY THIS JUDGE AND ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS HER HAS NOT SPENT 3 OR 4 DAYS IN HER COURT ROOM ALL DAY. ONLY THEN WILL YOU SEE THE NEED FOR CHANGES IN COURTROOM 15C AND THAT THE 50 PAGE COMPLAINT ONLY TOUCHES THE SURFACE OF THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM. CHRISTOPHER T. WILSON

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