Suit against judge, others dismissed

A lawsuit filed by an Elyria woman against Lorain County Probate Judge James T. Walther and others targeting the state of Ohio’s stay-athome order in 2020 has been dismissed, according to court records obtained by The Morning Journal.

The suit argued that state and local officials are unconstitutionally preventing human contact with Carol Gray and her daughter, who lives in a residential care facility.

It further claimed that Walther “is required to take action to facilitate touch being denied.”

On Jan. 29, visiting Judge Janet R. Burnside ruled a lawsuit filed by Gray in June 2020 will not go forward after Walther filed a motion for a summary judgment.

“The undisputed evidence shows this Defendant (Walther) had no involvement in the rules and regulations and visitation restrictions that Plaintiffs complain about and further that this Court has no jurisdiction to require this Defendant to issue any order as Probate Judge, let alone the requested order mandating human contact,” Burnside wrote. “This establishes a second basis upon which summary judgment must be and is hereby granted to Defendant.”

In an affidavit Walther wrote that as Lorain County probate judge, while he has jurisdiction over the guardianship of Gray’s ward, he has no role in placing her and was never asked to remove her nor has he intervened or interfered with implementation of state regulations.

Walther added, as probate judge, he has no duty under Ohio law to “facilitate contact and human touch” or to issue an order “mandating human contact between a guardian and a ward.”

The lawsuit also named Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, former Ohio Department of Health Director Dr. Amy Acton, Ohio Attorney General David Yost and Lorain County Public Health Commissioner Dave Covell as defendants.

Gray was represented by Lorain attorney Robert Gargasz.

When the lawsuit was filed, Gargasz said in a statement that current state policy was “tyrannical.”

“Imagine a world where a mother can not (sic) see hear and touch her child in Lorain County, Ohio!,” he wrote.

“You don’t need to imagine it, that unconstitutional and tyrannical reality exists today!”

Walther declined to comment on Burnside’s decision citing Ohio Revised Code provisions on judicial conduct barring judges from publicly commenting in cases for which he is a litigant.

Walther