COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Supreme Court has suspended a Geauga County Probate and Juvenile Court Judge for improperly detaining two teenage brothers who refused to attend a visitation with their father. Timothy J. Grendell is suspended from practicing law for 18 months, with 12 months of that suspension put on hold, because of judicial misconduct.

The judge is also immediately suspended from his judicial office without pay for the duration of the suspension. The discipline stems primarily from his handling of a child custody case, known as the Glasier matter.

In 2020, Judge Grendell ordered two young brothers to be held in a juvenile detention center over a weekend after they would not see their father, despite a court order. The court found that the judge's actions involved a willful disregard for the law and a failure to perform his duties impartially in the case.

The opinion noted that there was no legal basis to take the boys into custody and detain them, as they were not in "immediate danger" as required by juvenile court rules.

Furthermore, the judge ordered the boys to have no contact with their mother while in detention, which went against standard rules. The court concluded that the judge’s actions, including improperly ordering the detention and his subsequent attempts to interfere with a fundraiser started for the boys' mother, damaged public confidence in the impartiality of the judiciary.

The case also involved two other incidents, though the court did not find disciplinary violations for them.

First, the court dismissed an allegation that Judge Grendell abused his office's power when he voluntarily testified before the Ohio House in support of a bill sponsored by his wife, a state representative at the time. The court ruled that the rule restricting such testimony was an unconstitutional limit on free speech.

Second, an allegation related to a speech Judge Grendell gave at a Geauga County Tea Party event concerning a dispute with the county auditor was also dismissed. The court decided that punishing him for his comments would violate his right to free political speech.

The Ohio Supreme Court ultimately imposed a sanction based only on misconduct in the child custody case. The court noted the seriousness of wrongful detention, especially involving children, in determining the punishment.

Judge Grendell's suspension is for 18 months, with 12 months stayed, meaning he will be suspended for at least six months. If he commits further misconduct, the stay will be removed, and he will have to serve the full 18-month suspension.