Local Judge Faces Another Misconduct Complaint

The Ohio Supreme Court's Disciplinary Counsel has filed a complaint against Franklin County Judge Amy Salerno, accusing her if having secret communications with a defense lawyer before she reduced his client’s bond on drug-trafficking charges. The counsel says Salerno set bond for Tabatha Scalf at 75 thousand dollars last year after her attorney said Scalf had no criminal record and owned an electronics business. The counsel also says Salerno set a higher bond for Juan Mendoza, a co-defendant in the case, but later lowered it at the behest of his attorney. Salerno has yet to comment. Salerno has yet to comment on the complaint. In 2015, the court reprimanded Salerno for berating jurors who found a man on trial for assault not guilty.