The special prosecutor that may criminally charge Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther for a phone call he made to a Franklin County judge says he has faced delays in making a decision in the case.
Whitehall City Attorney Brad Nicodemus was assigned as special prosecutor in December after Judge Stephanie Mingo revealed Ginther tried to pressure her to rule in the city's favor on a lawsuit. Columbus was trying to get the court to shut down the troubled west side bus station operated by Greyhound Bus Lines and Barons Bus Lines.
A new wrinkle in this case happened recently when the city and the bus companies reached an agreement to move operations of the station to other locations.
"Obviously, I am still in the process of making a determination. I have reached out to Mayor Ginther's representatives since the case settled to to have another conversation with them," Nicodemus said.
He said the agreement between the city and bus stations won't impact whether he files charges against Ginther.
WOSU spoke to Ginther on Thursday and asked for comment on how this case is proceeding. Ginther defended his actions.
"I reached out, after a homicide at the bus station, to the judge to make sure she was aware of it and to make sure that she understood where the community's feelings were. I believe that's my job as mayor is to fight for and protect public safety. And I'm going to continue to do everything in my power to make Columbus safe," Ginther said.
The original complaint — filed by Ginther's mayoral election opponent Joe Motil — alleged Ginther violated not only the bus companies' civil rights by trying to interfere in the case, but also his own civil rights for allegedly trying to influence the election and the civil rights of Columbus voters.
Mingo did not release the contents of the call until after the election was over and Ginther had won a new term as mayor. She ended up recusing herself from the case, citing Ginther's phone call as the reason.
Mingo alleged Ginther told her "I know you care about the community. I care about the community. This Greyhound station is a problem for the community. We really need to do the right thing for the community and shut it down."
Motil told WOSU he thinks speaking on behalf of citizens is one thing, but doing so by illegally contacting a judge and conducting this ex-parte communications is another.
"That's not how a city official and especially the mayor of Columbus should be acting in terms of addressing safety issues concerning the city. He obstructed official business and he violated the civil rights of people, interfered with them," Motil said.
Nicodemus said he does not know how much longer the investigation could take. He said he doesn't want to give people a timeline because in December he had originally said he would be done in 1-2 months. That time passed and now Nicodemus said he doesn't want to "pigeonhole" himself again.
"I'm approaching it just like I would any other case. Looking at the facts, this one, because it's some of the unique stuff I'm doing a lot more legal research on," Nicodemus said.
Nicodemus said one thing that is delaying him is determining how this could be impacted by the Marsy's Law crime victims bill of rights has on the case.
Nicodemus said he wants to cover all his bases and see if the law, which gives crime victims certain rights and protections, should apply to the alleged victims in this case.
Nicodemus said he is also balancing work with his own law firm and his work as city attorney.
Motil criticized Nicodemus and said he thinks the special prosecutor is "dragging his feet."
Motil said he is also concerned with potential conflicts of interest with Nicodemus and would prefer if he was taken off the case. He said Nicodemus's former boss in the city attorney's office is Whitehall Mayor Matt Bevins, who has said he is a close friend of Ginther's.
Motil filed a case to get Nicodemus thrown out as special counsel. That case was originally rejected by a judge but Motil appealed the court's decision. That case is set to be heard by the Ohio Court of Appeals in late June.
