PORTSMOUTH, OH (WOWK) – The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct has certified a formal complaint against a Portsmouth Municipal Court judge who is already under investigation by a disciplinary council.
According to the complaint, Judge Russell D. Kegley is accused of violating judicial codes and abusing his power by interfering with a domestic violence case involving the arrest of his son, Case Kegley. It claims the judge did not act in a manner that promotes public confidence and abused the prestige of judicial office, as well as allegedly allowed family relationships to influence judicial conduct.
The accusations stem from an incident that began on May 25, 2023, around 11 p.m. when Case Kegley was arrested and charged with domestic violence and resisting arrest. He was scheduled for an arraignment at 9 a.m. before Judge Steven Mowery.
The complaint states that Case Kegley called his father from the Scioto County Jail. The complaint states the judge did not immediately answer, but called the jail back shortly after 1 a.m., asking to speak to Case. The officer who answered allowed Kegley to speak to his son.
According to the complaint, while on the call, Case gave his father his version of the events, and the judge then asked to speak with an officer. He then told the officer to let Case sign a bond and that he would be in court in the morning.
However, a Portsmouth Municipal Court Bond Schedule created by Judges Kegley and Mowrey in 2016 states that anyone charged with domestic violence must be held without bond until their initial appearance in Portsmouth Municipal Court.
As the judge’s order was against policy, the officer spoke with his supervisor who told him to obey Judge Kegley’s order, according to the complaint. However, because Case had allegedly appeared intoxicated, he could not be released before he was sober unless someone picked him up. The complaint state’s Judge Kegley agreed saying he wouldn’t come to pick Case up.
Case Kegley was later released on his own recognizance, according to the complaint.
Standard procedure for domestic violence cases also allows the arraigning judge or magistrate to issue a temporary protection order for the victim, which precludes defendants from going to the home of the victim.
However, upon his release, Case did return home to where the victim was, according to the complaint. The complaint says no one had informed the victim of his release.
At 9:02 a.m., May 26, 2023, a welfare check was requested for the victim who did not show up for work and after Case Kegley did not appear for his arraignment hearing.
The complaint says the Portsmouth Police Department responded to Case Kegley’s home where the victim was outside and advised officers they were fine. When asked if Case was in the home, the complaint alleges the victim said he was, according to the complaint.
However, the complaint says the victim went back inside while officers were waiting for assistance, and then came back out to say he’d gone out the back door. But a check of the house showed there was no back door. The victim later admitted Case was still inside.
While authorities responded, Judge Kegley received a call from his son and encouraged Case to surrender to the police, then drove to the home, according to the complaint. After Case was arrested and charged with failure to appear, the complaint says the judge drove to the jail to speak with his son. However, authorities told him they had a policy that family could not contact an inmate during the booking process. Judge Kegley then left the jail.
The complaint states that after booking, Case called his father and requested help getting released. According to the complaint, Judge Kegley told him that he could not help and had likely overstepped his boundaries the night before. The complaint alleges that Judge Kegley also spoke with Judge Mowery who had told Kegley that Case would be showing up in court for his new arraignment.
According to the complaint, Case Kegley pleaded guilty on Sept. 28, 2023 to charges of disorderly conduct, a fourth-degree misdemeanor; and attempted resisting arrest, a third-degree misdemeanor. The charge of failure to appear was dropped as part of his plea deal. The complaint says Case was sentenced to 60 days in jail, which was suspended, and six months of probation.
The four sections of code he is accused of violating are:
- Jud.Cond.R 1.2 – A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.
- Jud.Cond.R 1.3 – A judge shall not abuse the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interests of the judge or others, or allow others to do so.
- Jud.Cond.R 2.4(B) – A judge shall not permit family relationships to influence the judge’s judicial conduct or judgment
- Jud.Cond.R 2.9(A) – A judge shall not initiate, receive, permit or consider ex parte communications.
Judge Kegley and Judge Mowery are already under an FBI investigation for “potential theft offenses.” Those allegations claim the judges have been “altering their own hours and those of their staff.”No further information has been released and the investigation is ongoing.
