The Supreme Court of Ohio has issued a public reprimand to Hamilton County Probate Court Judge Ralph Winkler for making inaccurate and demeaning statements on Facebook related to a court case. The reprimand, detailed in a per curiam opinion, cites four violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct by Judge Winkler. These include authorizing assistant court administrator Scott Weikel to provide false information to a news reporter and subsequently posting his own misleading statements on Facebook in 2022, which were later deleted.
"In this case, Winkler and Weikel – a court administrator who was under Winkler’s supervision and control – made inaccurate, inappropriate, and inflammatory statements regarding the facts of a pending case that were not supported by the record," stated the Court.
The opinion was joined by Chief Justice Sharon L. Kennedy and Justices R. Patrick DeWine, Michael P. Donnelly, and Melody Stewart. Justices Patrick F. Fischer, Jennifer Brunner, and Joseph T. Deters did not participate in the decision.
Judge Winkler's tenure as probate judge began in 2014 after serving on both the Hamilton County Municipal Court and Common Pleas Court. The case involved Mary Frances McCullough's guardianship dispute with her children over her care arrangements. In 2013, McCullough had appointed an attorney as her conservator while claiming competency.
Her daughter Theresa McClean challenged this arrangement by arguing her mother's mental incompetence and seeking guardianship herself. Despite these efforts, a magistrate declared McCullough incompetent and maintained the attorney as guardian instead of appointing McClean.
During Judge Winkler's time on the bench starting in 2015, there were multiple complaints from family members about the guardianship process. The situation became public when websites critical of the second attorney guardian emerged anonymously.
In January 2019, Weikel informed a reporter that McCullough's mother was removed from an unsafe living environment due to inadequate care by her son Rob McCullough—a claim later refuted by family records sent to Judge Winkler but not reviewed.
A subsequent online exchange occurred when Rob McCullough criticized court magistrate Kenneth Coes on Facebook two years after an unrelated interview post by Judge Winkler. This led to further contentious comments from Judge Winkler toward Rob McCullough regarding his mother's care.
The Ohio State Bar Association filed a complaint against Judge Winkler in 2023 based on these incidents. He admitted inaccuracies in his statements about Mrs. McCullough's removal from her home due to alleged poor conditions; she had actually been moved to assisted living for better care options.
Judge Winkler acknowledged his failure to verify facts before posting comments online and imposed new media policies following these events—prohibiting public discussion of pending cases without consent from involved parties.
Despite finding no intentional misinformation spread by Judge Winkler, he was found guilty of conduct violations for undermining public confidence in judiciary integrity through his actions. The Court adopted recommendations for a public reprimand while noting his corrective measures like removing offending posts promptly.
"He did not attempt to excuse his conduct but explained that it was motivated in part by a desire to defend Magistrate Coes from what he perceived to be Rob’s unjust attack," according to the Court's statement.
Additionally, Judge Winkler must cover disciplinary proceeding costs as part of his sanctioning under Ohio State Bar Assn v. Winkler (Slip Opinion No: 2024-Ohio-3141).