Ohio judge blames menopause, sleep apnea for 100 instances of misconduct on the bench

A Cleveland judge claims menopause and sleep apnea, and the resulting anxiety, were the cause of 100 cases of misconduct she committed on the bench from 2017 to 2020. 

Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Pinkey Susan Carr is accused of about 100 incidents, including jailing defendants for unsuitable reasons and issuing arrest warrants for people who did not appear in court during COVID-19 stay-at-home orders.

Carr’s legal team appeared in front of the Ohio Supreme Court this week, claiming Carr’s misbehavior was due to several medical conditions she was experiencing at the time.

Carr’s attorneys blame the judge’s medical team for improperly treating her conditions. “The issue here is that her treaters were mis— essentially mistreating the conditions, causing there to be counteracting issues,” the attorneys said. “So when it comes to sleep apnea, she was unable to get the sleep necessary. When it comes to the menopause, she was dealing with issues wherein she wasn’t able to function to 100%.”

Carr is facing a 2 year suspension for the misconduct.

“When you look at the volume of misconduct, we feel that given the fact that she is addressing her mental health issues and she ultimately did stipulate and come around on the misconduct here, that two years would be a sufficient sanction that would not only recognize her misconduct, but also just deter other members of our judiciary from engaging in a similar type of misconduct,” said Joseph Caligiuri, Disciplinary Counsel for the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct. “But there’s no question that the recommendation between two years and indefinite was very thin.”