Feb. 3—The Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners and Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas judges have filed motions with the Ohio Supreme Court, seeking to dismiss a motion from Ashtabula County Prosecutor Colleen O’Toole that sought to compel the judges to set a salary for a special investigator, among other things.

O’Toole filed a motion with the Ohio Supreme Court, seeking a variety of writs, the first of which would compel the Common Pleas judges to set a salary for a special investigator and approve outside counsel for the Prosecutor’s Office during the proceedings, preventing the judges from letting the Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners intervene in O’Toole’s request for funds for an investigator and prohibiting the judges from forcing her to testify regarding her request.

On Thursday, the commissioners and the judges filed separate motions to dismiss. Both motions relied on the fact that the judges recently set the salary for the investigator at the statutory minimum of $125, and the commissioners accepted the salary and appropriated funds for it, rendering the request for a writ ordering the judges to set a salary moot.

The judges’ motion to dismiss also argues that there is now a final judgement which O’Toole can appeal through regular channels.

O’Toole sought the appointment of an investigator for a significant part of last year.

A hearing took place in the summer of 2023, with all three Common Pleas court judges presiding. Witnesses called by O’Toole during the hearing stated investigators help smaller departments with complex investigations.

O’Toole was ordered to take the stand at the hearing, and withdrew her motion rather than testify.

She refiled her request in September. The request sought to have the investigator’s salary set at $75,000 per year.

The Ohio Supreme Court will have to rule on the motions.