Latest / Brian Thomas / Brian talks with Common Pleas Court Judge Leah Dinkelacker

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Brian talks with Common Pleas Court Judge Leah Dinkelacker · Brian Thomas

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  Speaker 1: He'll sit here fifty five Taaro CD Talk Station. A
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  Speaker 1: very happy Widnesday to everybody. Reminder listener to watch next
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  Speaker 1: week High Grain Brewery, went and Road location. Hope to
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  Speaker 1: see you there and I hope that you do exactly
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  Speaker 1: what her website addresses, which is keep Judge leahdink Locker.
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  Speaker 1: That's dot com if you want to check the website out.
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  Speaker 1: We need to keep Judge leadank Locker. She has a
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  Speaker 1: firm grasp on the criminal justice system. She is currently
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  Speaker 1: sitting on the bench after having been appointed by Governor
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  Speaker 1: Mike DeWine last year. And welcome back to the fifty
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  Speaker 1: five Karroose Morning Show, Judge dent Locker. It's certainly a
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  Speaker 1: pleasure to have you on your program today.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you so much for having me back. I really
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  Speaker 2: appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: And I'll just ask Joe if you wouldn't mind adding
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  Speaker 1: your your website, the reelection website. Keep Judge Leahdnklocker dot
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  Speaker 1: com to my blog page fifty five or at fifty
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  Speaker 1: five KRSE dot iHeart dot com to help my listeners
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  Speaker 1: find it if they can't remember that you were assistant
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  Speaker 1: Hamilton County Proskying your attorney for about thirteen years, and
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  Speaker 1: you've been sitting on the bench and you've been presenting
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  Speaker 1: over a variety of different matters. My understanding is your
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  Speaker 1: murder trials, rape, Charles Filonius, assault. We could go on,
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  Speaker 1: but how has your time on the bench been been
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  Speaker 1: and what have you learned since you've been at this
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  Speaker 1: job now for well quite some time.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, no, sure, it's been great. Like you said, I
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  Speaker 2: got a point last March. So I've been on the
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  Speaker 2: bench for almost a year and a half now and
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  Speaker 2: we've been busy. Like you said, within the first three
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  Speaker 2: weeks of taking the bench, I did a murder trial.
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  Speaker 2: We've done rape, flowing sassault of a police officer, medical
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  Speaker 2: malpractice with a multi million dollar verdict, another wrongful death,
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  Speaker 2: workers compensation you know, tailor to comply. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: I'm here to work. Everyone deserves their day in court
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  Speaker 2: and that's why I'm here. And you know everyone that
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  Speaker 2: comes in front of me, I treat with dignity and
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  Speaker 2: respect because that's what they deserve. And you know what
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  Speaker 2: I've learned is I knew this was a tough job,
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  Speaker 2: but it should be a tough job because every decision
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  Speaker 2: that I made affects someone's life, whether it's criminal or civil.
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  Speaker 2: And so but I've learned, you know, I know I'm
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  Speaker 2: doing what I think is best and then I move on.
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  Speaker 2: But it's been a very rewarding job. And like I,
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  Speaker 2: like you touched on earlier, I'm doing what I can
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  Speaker 2: do every day to help keep this me safe. That's
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  Speaker 2: my job, and it's why I'm here to do this job.
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  Speaker 2: I'm and hoping that I can keep doing this come November.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and I guess my big problem and I still
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  Speaker 1: struggle to appreciate how anybody could embrace the ideology that
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  Speaker 1: punishment is somehow bad. It's part of the criminal justice system.
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  Speaker 1: It's one of the reasons we have one, you know.
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  Speaker 1: One of the ideas of criminal justice the race originally
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  Speaker 1: was the well if we get them in prison, then
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  Speaker 1: we can rehabilitate them. Well we can laugh at that
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  Speaker 1: as a suggestion, but punishment as a warning, as a
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  Speaker 1: cautionary tale to the rest of society. Don't do what
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  Speaker 1: that guy does, because under law, you are going to
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  Speaker 1: be put in jail for a period of time determined
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  Speaker 1: by the judge. And that should serve as an example,
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  Speaker 1: any warning to all of those out there who might
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  Speaker 1: otherwise go down that road not to do it. If
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  Speaker 1: you get rid of the punishment component, people commit more crime.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, didn't we learn. I mean, if we look
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  Speaker 1: at the experiment California has been engaged in for this long,
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  Speaker 1: look what happened there. You decriminalize theft under nine hundred
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  Speaker 1: and fifty bucks, guess what people going in and steal
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  Speaker 1: nine hundred and forty nine dollars and ninety nine cents
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  Speaker 1: worth of stuff?
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  Speaker 2: Right?
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  Speaker 1: Well?
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  Speaker 2: And like the under the law, you know, I took
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  Speaker 2: a note to follow law, and I take that seriously.
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  Speaker 2: And under the law, the purposes of felony sentencing are,
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  Speaker 2: like you said, to protect the public, punish the offender,
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  Speaker 2: and to promote effective rehabilitation. So when I craft my sentences,
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  Speaker 2: I have to keep those purposes in mind, and that's
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  Speaker 2: what I do every day.
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  Speaker 1: Is there a division? And I don't want you to
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  Speaker 1: name names, but I think I can think of a
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  Speaker 1: couple of names that immediately come to mind that don't
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  Speaker 1: seem to be interested in punishment whatsoever, and actually don't
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  Speaker 1: even believe in the concept of bonds. But do you
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  Speaker 1: sense a division within the Hamilton County judiciary that there
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  Speaker 1: are some who are of this modern I'll call it woke.
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  Speaker 1: That's my label, not your mindset, that we punishment is
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  Speaker 1: bad and we don't want to give juveniles any form
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  Speaker 1: of record because it's going to work. You know, you
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  Speaker 1: stay with them for the rest of their lives. But
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  Speaker 1: if you don't punish juveniles, they become adult criminals. So
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  Speaker 1: is there a division within the judiciary along those lines
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  Speaker 1: that I'm kind of laying out here.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so I'm obviously I'm gonna be careful, but you
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  Speaker 2: have to be. I can only can Yeah, No, I
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  Speaker 2: can only control as admiram, and I will tell you
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  Speaker 2: because of my I know, I've only been here a
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  Speaker 2: year and a half, but I've been in a system
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  Speaker 2: in this courthouse, you know, for fourteen years now. I
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  Speaker 2: have chosen to do my own bonds on felonies, so
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  Speaker 2: the first degree and second degree, so the most serious felonies,
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  Speaker 2: and I review all my bonds as well. But I
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  Speaker 2: thought it was necessary to do that so that if
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  Speaker 2: the appropriate bonds are set. So there's just my example
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  Speaker 2: of one example of what I do and to stay
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  Speaker 2: in line. Does that makes sense? Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: It does remind my listeners what considerations you take when
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  Speaker 1: you when you're looking at a bond hearing, I mean,
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  Speaker 1: recidivism is one of them, right, because if you have
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  Speaker 1: someone who ends up in front of the criminal justices
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  Speaker 1: from time and time again, clearly they haven't gotten the message.
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  Speaker 1: So that's one element you look at, isn't it. What
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  Speaker 1: are some others?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, yeah, you look at the criminal history, You
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  Speaker 2: look at the nature and the circumstances of the charges.
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  Speaker 2: You know, with a firearm involved, what's the weight of
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  Speaker 2: the evidence against the defendant. You do take into consideration,
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  Speaker 2: you know, the defendants situation, the financial situation, employment, things
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  Speaker 2: like that. But also you have to take into consideration
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  Speaker 2: the safety of the community. And so when you have
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  Speaker 2: a violent felony that involves a firearm or you know,
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  Speaker 2: you're also taking a consideration as a person on probation, parole,
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  Speaker 2: any you know, post release control on anything like that.
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  Speaker 2: Those are things under the law that you have to
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  Speaker 2: consider when setting bond. And that's what I do when
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  Speaker 2: I decide what the appropriate bond is.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and I think about bond hearings, and I understand
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  Speaker 1: the the the emotional argument, Well, this person has not
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  Speaker 1: been convicted beyond a reasonable doubt of the crime that
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  Speaker 1: they're standing in front of the judge of the bond
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  Speaker 1: hearing for. So there's been no conviction, how is it
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  Speaker 1: that you can require them to pony up some cash
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  Speaker 1: before they've been convicted. But isn't that sort of like
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  Speaker 1: an injunction hearing when you're trying to weigh the evidence
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  Speaker 1: and is the person seeking an adjunction likely to succeed
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  Speaker 1: on the merits under the law. It's sort of an
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  Speaker 1: advanced determination of what you're you're you're going to decide
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  Speaker 1: at the end. But if there's an overwhelming preponderance of
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  Speaker 1: evidence which suggests this party is going to win, that's
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  Speaker 1: going to serve to allow for an injunction to move forward.
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  Speaker 1: Do you look at the weight of the criminal evidence
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  Speaker 1: when you're doing the bond hearing along those same lines
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  Speaker 1: or is this some other parallel you can better draw
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  Speaker 1: from me, am I listening audience.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, No, I think that was a good comparison. One
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  Speaker 2: of the factors is the weight of the evidence and
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  Speaker 2: if there if the defendant's identity can be confirmed. So
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  Speaker 2: you know, that's why when I conduct my bond hearings,
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  Speaker 2: obviously the state of Ohio is there the defense attorneys.
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  Speaker 2: I listen to everything, so every whatever information they're willing
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  Speaker 2: to give me, you know, that's what I go off of.
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  Speaker 2: And I, like I said, I still go back to
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  Speaker 2: I always have to consider the safety of the community,
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  Speaker 2: and that involves, like you mentioned, the criminal history, which
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  Speaker 2: also have they appeared for court? Do they have failure
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  Speaker 2: to compere as kpist history, all those things, because I
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  Speaker 2: need to ensure that I'm meeting all those elements, that
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  Speaker 2: the community is safe while we're pending the case, and
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  Speaker 2: that he's there. We're going to get this case in
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  Speaker 2: court so that everyone gets justice, you know, the police
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  Speaker 2: officers and victims involved, and the defendant.
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  Speaker 1: Well, and those seem to me to be comparable factors.
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  Speaker 1: Never said on the bench myself, but I imagine if
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  Speaker 1: you are reviewing a plea deal. If the prosecutor's office
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  Speaker 1: comes to you, and the defendant comes to you and
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  Speaker 1: they say, well, we've agreed to the following plea deal.
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  Speaker 1: They're willing to accept X y Z in terms of punishment,
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  Speaker 1: and the prosecutor's office agrees to that satisfactory, do you
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  Speaker 1: do a similar analysis, Because I can see just in
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  Speaker 1: my mind, not yours. Again, my words. I don't want
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  Speaker 1: to impose anything on you my listeners, thinking that these
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  Speaker 1: are your words. But if you have a quote unquote
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  Speaker 1: woke prosecutor who wants to be lenient on this poor
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  Speaker 1: devil who's in front of him, and of course the
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  Speaker 1: defense attorney is going to want any sweetheart plea deal
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  Speaker 1: that he can grab for his client if they come
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  Speaker 1: to you with something that this does not seem right.
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  Speaker 1: Probation for two years for this particular crime is inadequate.
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  Speaker 1: Do you do this similar analysis analysis on that and
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  Speaker 1: whether you agree to accept it or not?
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  Speaker 2: Yes, So obviously I consider, you know, I want to
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  Speaker 2: know what are the facts of the case, but yeah,
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  Speaker 2: and history, But I also I want to know what
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  Speaker 2: if it's what the police officers involved, what is there?
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  Speaker 2: I want their input the victim, Are they okay with
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  Speaker 2: this plea? What's their input? And I always ask for
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  Speaker 2: that before I decide if I'm going to go along
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  Speaker 2: with the plea. So yeah, it's the same, it's a
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  Speaker 2: similar analysis, but for me, and obviously I listen to
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  Speaker 2: anything the defense attorney talking as well about the descendant
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  Speaker 2: that I should know absolutely, but I really need to
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  Speaker 2: know if the officer and the victim are what their
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  Speaker 2: input is as far as the plea as well.
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  Speaker 1: All right, well, that's all sounding good news from my standpoint.
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  Speaker 1: I'm sure my listeners agree with that, considering the problems
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  Speaker 1: that we believe we are faced with here in Hamilton
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  Speaker 1: County generally speaking. Now, in your experience on the bench,
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  Speaker 1: have you ever rejected a plea deal along those lines.
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  Speaker 2: I'm trying to I. I don't know if I have yet,
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  Speaker 2: but you know, it's case case.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, sure one does.
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  Speaker 2: Something does not stand out at this point, but I
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  Speaker 2: you know, I've been on the other side as a
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  Speaker 2: prosecutor where I guess I don't. I don't know if
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  Speaker 2: one has been rejected before, probably sometime in my life.
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  Speaker 2: But nothing stands out.
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  Speaker 1: At this point, fair enough, And I mean to put
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  Speaker 1: you on the spot, just kind of wondering how that
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  Speaker 1: has gone.
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  Speaker 2: No, I just yeah, no, thank you. All right.
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  Speaker 1: Now, prior to being appointed to the bench, you served
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  Speaker 1: in the juvenile, municipal and felony divisions, you know, as prosecutor.
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  Speaker 1: I just kind of want to get your take on
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  Speaker 1: something that I ask. I try to ask judges and
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  Speaker 1: every member of law enforcement that comes in. We've got
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  Speaker 1: a problem with juveniles these days. If you haven't noticed you,
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  Speaker 1: if you had to trace a particular problem, why are
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  Speaker 1: out juveniles out there committing it seems to be more
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  Speaker 1: and more violent crimes, but committing so much crime out there?
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  Speaker 1: I'm of the mindset it is the deterioration of the
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  Speaker 1: nuclear family that there's apparently no one at home, you know,
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  Speaker 1: training them, teaching them morals, ethics and values. You of
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  Speaker 1: course can't pick that up up in a public education,
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  Speaker 1: but if you had to put your thumb on some
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  Speaker 1: reason why juveniles have gone off the rails, you know,
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  Speaker 1: in a broadbrush approach. Have you learned anything from your
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  Speaker 1: time as a Hamlin County prosecutor as well as judge?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah? Sure so, like you said, I started off my
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  Speaker 2: career as a prosecutor as an ass as an assistant
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  Speaker 2: attorney in the juvenile division, and then I end it
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  Speaker 2: as a supervisor in the juvenile division. And I think
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  Speaker 2: you're right. I think it. You know, it goes back
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  Speaker 2: to the home.
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  Speaker 1: All right, Well, a lot of society's problems would be
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  Speaker 1: solved if you know there was mom and dad at
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  Speaker 1: home there. I am again, Judge Leah Dent, a locker.
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  Speaker 1: I am going to encourage from the bottom of my heart,
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  Speaker 1: people go to your web page keep Judge leat dentk
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  Speaker 1: a Locker dot com. And in the upright hand corner
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  Speaker 1: you're going to see a little donate button. Click on
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  Speaker 1: that and please do that. I mean, we got some
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  Speaker 1: tough races here and we could use some good jurists.
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  Speaker 1: She is demonstrably a great one. We've got a year
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  Speaker 1: and a half of her being on the bench. You
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  Speaker 1: just heard her theories and thoughts on the criminal justice system.
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  Speaker 1: So I've got no fault whatsoever. And Lord knows we
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  Speaker 1: need some good judges in so far as crime is concerned.
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  Speaker 1: We have one in Judge Leiah denk Locker. So let's
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  Speaker 1: keep her. Keep Judge LEAHT. Dank Locker dot com. Judge
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  Speaker 1: denk Locker, you are always welcome on the morning show.
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  Speaker 1: And please give your father my regards. He is just
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  Speaker 1: a brilliant man.
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  Speaker 2: No, thank you so much, thank you for having me again.
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  Speaker 2: I have my website this time, so thank you for
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  Speaker 2: putting it out there. Thank you so much for your support.
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  Speaker 2: I truly appreciate it.
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  Speaker 1: I wish it.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, I hope to be back sometime soon.
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  Speaker 1: Well for all the residents in Hamilton County, I wish
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  Speaker 1: you all the best and all the success in the world.
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  Speaker 1: In November