State v. Hall, 2014 Ohio 416

Danny Hall was convicted in a bench trial of domestic violence under R.C. 2919.25(A).
Hall asserted ineffective assistance of counsel for not filing a formal affidavit of disqualification against the trial judge under R.C. 2701.031.
Hall claimed bias based on a 2002 incident in the same judge's courtroom that led to restraints in present proceedings.
The judge refused to recuse himself and ordered restraints due to Hall's prior conduct, stating no animosity and needing courtroom order.
On appeal, the court applied Strickland to assess whether counsel’s performance was deficient and prejudicial, and held there was no ineffective assistance.
The court noted the disqualification statute applicable to municipal/county judges is R.C. 2701.031, with affidavits reviewed by the common pleas court, and affirmed that counsel reasonably chose not to pursue disqualification.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel's failure to file affidavit of disqualification was deficient performance	Hall	Hall	No, performance was not deficient
Whether the judge's prior conduct indicated bias requiring disqualification	Hall	Hall	No bias established; judge acted within discretion and no disqualification warranted

State v. Grant, 8th Dist. Cuyahoga No. 94101, 2010-Ohio-5241 (2010) (trial counsel’s decision not to pursue disqualification may be strategic)
In re Disqualification of Aubry, Ohio St.3d 2006-Ohio-7231, 884 N.E.2d 1095 (2006) (judge presumed impartial; appearance must be compelling to overcome presumption)
In re Disqualification of George, Ohio St.3d 2003-Ohio-5489, 798 N.E.2d 23 (2003) (presumption of impartiality; no implied bias from prior proceedings)
In re Disqualification of Floyd, Ohio St.3d 2012-Ohio-6353, 985 N.E.2d 488 (2012) (judge’s subjective belief accorded some weight in bias determinations)