Washington, DC— Today, the nation's first comprehensive study of the systems that hold state and federal judges accountable ranked Ohio 31st in the nation and issued the state's program a C-Minus grade. To shine a light on the typically secretive and toothless systems that often fail to remove abusive and incompetent judges from the bench, legal consumer watchdog group HALT, Inc. released its 2008 Judicial Accountability Report Card, analyzing programs in all 50 states, D.C. and the federal circuits.

"Ohio's system of judicial oversight places too many obstacles in the path of citizens wishing to file ethics complaints against state judges," stated HALT Senior Counsel Suzanne M. Blonder.

HALT's study found that the complaint form for the Ohio Office of Disciplinary Counsel requests that citizens keep the fact that they have filed a grievance against a judge confidential and states that "only the attorney/judge against whom you are filing your grievance may waive confidentiality."

"The vast majority of states have abolished these sorts of 'gag' rules," stated Blonder. "Ohio's restrictions not only violate citizens' right to free speech, they also keep the general public in the dark about whether the system of judicial oversight is operating effectively."

And while the Web site for the Office of Disciplinary Counsel provides many useful resources, such as a downloadable complaint form, a list of upcoming hearings and a link to the state's Code of Judicial Conduct, the site fails to provide a clear explanation of the disciplinary process.

Additionally, Ohio rules fail to place meaningful limitations on the reimbursement and compensation that judges may accept in connection with corporate and special interest funded trips. "Ohio's laws unfortunately include massive loopholes that still allow members of the judiciary to be wined and dined on the corporate dime," noted Blonder.

None of the top five states-Washington, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Arizona and California-scored higher than a B average on HALT's Report Card. More than half of the states received grades in the C range and HALT issued D's to 14 jurisdictions. Two states-Maine and Mississippi-flunked outright.

"At a time when the American public has lost faith in the impartiality and fairness of the nation's judiciary, it's critical that we have an effective system of oversight for judges," stated Blonder. "We hope that Ohio's chief judicial officers will work to transform a mechanism marred by secrecy into a system dedicated to upholding the integrity of the judiciary."