Geauga County Juvenile Court Judge Tim Grendell is threatening to jail the assistant director of the county’s Department of Job and Family Services and a 75-year-old caseworker for reportedly questioning one of his orders in a child support case.
The court’s action will cost county taxpayers because outside legal counsel is needed to represent JFS Assistant Director Paul Reinman — a 21-year department employee — and Katherine Wiles — a 14-year caseworker — at an Aug. 14 hearing to show cause why they should not be held in contempt of court.
However, no one other than Grendell seems to know why the two county employees are being summoned to court.
According to JFS Director Craig Swenson, Reinman never attended any hearings in the underlying child support case and all Wiles did was question Grendell about the effective termination date in a July 26 order he issued to end child support.
Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz, accompanied by Swenson, appeared before Geauga County Commissioners Aug. 8 to request the appointment of legal counsel.
“I don’t really have a lot of details on this because I think what happened is a little inexplicable to me,” Flaiz said. “I don’t know all the facts behind it, but out of nowhere, we received a summons and order to show cause to hold the assistant JFS director and one of the child support workers (in contempt of court.)”
Flaiz explained the orders, which Grendell issued on Aug. 2, showed up in his office Aug. 3. He said he spoke with his child support assistant prosecutor about it and neither of them could understand why they were issued.
“There was no communication from the court,” he added. “I don’t understand it, but the problem is I have to get them legal counsel — he’s threatening to throw them in jail, right? Two of our (county) employees.”
Flaiz said his office normally would represent the employees, but explained his assistant prosecutor could be called as a witness in the proceedings. As such, his office would be conflicted in representing them.
“Again, wasting money, but it’s just necessary,” said Flaiz. “This just came out of nowhere as far as I can tell.”
Swenson told the commissioners attached to Grendell’s Aug. 2 contempt citation was a copy of the July 26 order, which Swenson believes Grendell is alleging they have not followed.
“I am confident that as the facts play out, that it will be determined that we did, in fact, follow the letter of the law,” Swenson said. “This is really unfounded and it’s just really hurtful, and my employees are really impacted adversely by this situation.”
He added Reinman never attended any court hearings concerning the case, including a July 10 hearing — which neither Wiles nor anyone from the prosecutor’s office attended — that resulted in the issuance of the July 26 order.
“Paul received this citation and knew nothing about what had played out,” explained Swenson. “He’s at work one day and gets a citation that he’s being held in contempt of court and he doesn’t even know why. For failure to do what? He doesn’t know anything about it . . . So, he’s trying to be held accountable for actions that he did not even partake in.”
In response to a question from Commissioner Tim Lennon, Flaiz explained that normally in a contempt proceeding, a party would file a motion and set forth facts alleging violation of a court order.
“Since the judge did this on his own, we don’t have the benefit of that. It’s not like the judge laid out what they did wrong. He just issued the contempt summons,” said Flaiz.
“It’s unfortunate you have to do this,” Lennon said.
Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri added, “It’s like a cesspool of money that just keeps going out the window here. It’s crazy.”
Kimberly Laurie, the court’s budget/fiscal director and county liaison, emphasized neither Reinman nor Wiles have been found to be in contempt of court.
“They are simply show cause orders directing them to come in and tell the court why they are not complying with an existing order regarding child support,” Laurie said in an email Tuesday afternoon. “If there is a legitimate reason for not complying with a court order, a show cause hearing is the only legally proper place to have that conversation.
“It’s their choice if they want to spend money on a lawyer. They could save taxpayers money by simply honoring the original court order.”
Following Flaiz’s request, the commissioners unanimously approved the application for appointment of counsel, which was filed in the Geauga County Common Pleas Court.
Judge Forrest Burt found the application to be well taken and appointed attorney Todd Raskin and the law firm of Mazanec, Raskin & Ryder Co., LPA, to represent Reinman and Wiles.
