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Call to judge did not seek a favor, commissioner's husband says
> Video of the DUI arrest
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Two days after Montgomery County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman's Saturday arrest for drunken driving, her husband placed a call at home to the judge scheduled to hear the case — a family friend and political ally who uses him to fill in on the bench in her court.
Attorney Dennis Lieberman and Vandalia Municipal Court Judge Cynthia Heck said the call was not an effort to get favorable treatment for the commissioner, who was eligible for a diversion program that will keep her out of jail and let her retain her driver's license.
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"There was no expectation other than to be treated equally," said Mr. Lieberman, a member of the Montgomery County Board of Elections and former chairman of the county Democratic Party.
"He knows I would never give special favors," said Heck, also a Democrat and the wife of county Prosecutor Mathias Heck.
"That's why I didn't feel uncomfortable signing off on a diversion file for somebody I knew, because I'm very careful about these kinds of things."
Heck said she saw no reason to remove herself from the case, since Mrs. Lieberman wanted in the diversion program and planned a conditional guilty plea to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.
Had Mrs. Lieberman intended to fight, Heck said she would have recused herself to avoid "any appearance of impropriety."
Heck approved the diversion for Mrs. Lieberman on Tuesday. The commissioner paid $500 in court costs, must attend a three-day lockdown alcohol treatment program and can have the charges dismissed in a year.
Heck said this is the first time an attorney has called her at home about a case, but she said the friendship made it an unusual situation.
"A judge likes to know when they are going to have controversial issues on their docket," Mr. Lieberman said. "The fact that Debbie is a county commissioner and her friend, I wanted her to know she was going to be on the docket so she could be prepared to do whatever she felt was appropriate."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7455 or
lhulsey@DaytonDailyNews.com.
