A former Cuyahoga County assistant prosecutor is sitting in the Cuyahoga County jail after being indicted on two felony counts of obstructing justice. Carl Sullivan was charged Tuesday, and the case has already been handed off to prosecutors from a neighboring county to avoid any appearance of impropriety.
According to FOX 8, Sullivan was indicted Tuesday, Sept. 30, on the two obstruction counts and is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday, Oct. 1, in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The indictment states the dates of the alleged offense are on or about June 7 through June 22, though the underlying conduct behind the charges has not been detailed publicly.
Special Prosecutor Steps In
Because Sullivan previously worked as an assistant prosecutor for Cuyahoga County, the Summit County Prosecutor's Office has been appointed as special prosecutor on the case in order to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest, the station reported. That arrangement means the office that would typically handle a Cuyahoga County criminal case has stepped aside entirely for this one.
Per the same report, all questions about the case will need to be referred to the Summit County Prosecutor's Office going forward, since that office is now handling the matter directly.
What Remains Unclear
Sullivan's current legal representation and whether he has entered a plea have not been reported. The outcome of Thursday's scheduled arraignment was also not yet known at the time of the station's report.
Ohio's obstructing justice statute, codified under Section 2921.32 of the Ohio Revised Code, generally covers efforts to hinder the discovery, apprehension, prosecution, or punishment of another person for a crime, though it has not been confirmed which specific provisions apply to Sullivan's case. Additional case details, including a docket number, may eventually surface through the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court docket.
