Portage County Common Pleas Judge Becky Doherty’s DUI case began on a snowy February night in 2019, when she crashed her SUV off an Interstate 76 on-ramp, told officers she was “absolutely out of my mind” intoxicated, and repeatedly reminded them she was a judge. She pleaded guilty within days to a first-offense OVI, and the Supreme Court of Ohio publicly reprimanded her in April 2020 for abusing the prestige of her office. She remains on the bench.
The Crash and Arrest
On the evening of February 10, 2019, Doherty drove her 2016 GMC SUV into a ditch off the eastbound I-76 on-ramp near Route 43 in Brimfield. Roads were snowy and icy. When a Brimfield officer opened the driver’s door, he found vomit on the inside of it.1Akron Beacon Journal. Portage County Judge Reprimanded Doherty was unsteady enough that two officers had to help her up a snowy embankment after she fell trying to climb it on her own.2Times Reporter. Judge Doherty Tells Police
She began the horizontal gaze nystagmus test but could not follow directions, then refused to complete the remaining field sobriety tests or take a breathalyzer.2Times Reporter. Judge Doherty Tells Police She was arrested and charged with operating a vehicle under the influence, a first-degree misdemeanor.
“Do You Know Who I Am?”
Body camera footage from the stop captured the conduct that would later drive the disciplinary case. Doherty repeatedly identified herself as a Portage County common pleas judge, asked officers more than once, “Do you know who I am?” and demanded they call her friend, Portage County Sheriff’s Major Larry Limbert. Sitting in the cruiser, she told an officer, “I am absolutely out of my mind. I am so intoxicated.”3News 5 Cleveland. Report: Portage County Judge Arrested After Telling Officers She Was Drunk
The Guilty Plea and Sentence
On February 15, 2019, five days after the crash, Doherty’s attorney entered a guilty plea on her behalf in Portage County Municipal Court in Kent before Judge Kevin Poland.4Record-Courier. Judge Doherty Pleads Guilty, Apologizes It was her first offense.
The court sentenced her to 180 days in the Portage County Jail with 177 days suspended, which she satisfied through a three-day driver-intervention program. Her driver’s license was suspended for one year. She was fined $1,075, with $700 suspended on the condition that she complete the intervention program and stay free of alcohol- or drug-related offenses for two years.5Cleveland 19 News. Portage County Judge Arrested for OVI, Pleads Guilty in Kent Courtroom
The Supreme Court of Ohio Reprimand
The criminal case did not end the matter. Ohio’s Office of Disciplinary Counsel filed a formal complaint with the Board of Professional Conduct, charging Doherty with violating two provisions of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct: Rule 1.2, requiring judges to promote public confidence in the judiciary’s independence, integrity, and impartiality; and Rule 1.3, prohibiting judges from abusing the prestige of judicial office to advance personal interests.6Court News Ohio. Disciplinary Counsel v. Doherty
On April 14, 2020, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a per curiam opinion adopting the Board’s findings and publicly reprimanding her. The court concluded that her repeated invocations of her judicial title during the arrest amounted to an abuse of the prestige of office, even if those statements were, as the court put it, “borne of the lip-loosening effects of alcohol.”6Court News Ohio. Disciplinary Counsel v. Doherty Justices Kennedy, French, Fischer, DeWine, Donnelly, and Stewart joined the opinion. Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor did not participate.7Supreme Court of Ohio. Disciplinary Counsel v. Doherty, 2020-Ohio-1422
Several mitigating factors shaped the sanction. Doherty had no prior discipline, cooperated fully with the investigation, acknowledged her misconduct, and expressed public remorse. She submitted 13 character letters and testimony from two witnesses. An expert assessment found no substance-abuse, emotional, or psychological disorder, and the Ohio Lawyers Assistance Program determined she did not need a monitoring contract. The court also weighed the criminal penalties she had already faced.7Supreme Court of Ohio. Disciplinary Counsel v. Doherty, 2020-Ohio-1422 A public reprimand is the lightest formal sanction available in Ohio judicial discipline.
Where She Is Now
Doherty kept her job. Her most recent term began January 1, 2021, and as of 2026 she remains a sitting judge on the Portage County Common Pleas Court, presiding in Courtroom #4 in Ravenna.8Portage County Government. Judge Doherty She also continues to preside over the county’s HOPE Drug Court, a specialized docket for felony drug offenders working through addiction that has been certified by the Ohio Supreme Court’s Commission on Specialized Dockets.9Record-Courier. Portage County HOPE Court Re-Certified