Ex-judge ordered to jail after years of legal challenges

CINCINNATI (AP) — A judge has ordered a former county juvenile court judge to jail, ending years of legal challenges that allowed her to remain free.

A deputy pulled Tracie Hunter out of the courtroom Monday morning, after she went limp. Supporters stood and yelled in anger.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker ordered her six-month jail sentence carried out after a contentious hearing in which he read from postcards sent to his home in Hunter’s support. He called them an apparent intimidation attempt that “flat out failed.”

Hunter had gone to multiple courts to challenge her 2014 conviction and sentence on a felony count related to mishandling a confidential document.

Attorneys for Hunter have contended the case was political. The Democrat took the bench after a disputed 2010 election.