Judiciary
Judge & PDs Chip In to Give Once-Homeless Defendant a Holiday Season Gift: $57 Restitution
In his adjoining chambers, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick couldn’t help but overhear the confab in a bailiff’s office about a problem facing his colleague, Judge Jose Villanueva.
A once-homeless woman was getting her minor Ohio felony record expunged and, as part of the process, Villaneuva was going to waive fees. But he couldn’t, by law, waive the $57 restitution, reports the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
McCormick offered a solution: “Let’s just chip in. Here’s 20 bucks.” And public defenders Jason Haller and Juan Hernandez anted up another $20 each, bringing the total to $60.
The unidentified woman wrote a profuse thank-you note, the newspaper reports.
