A former Butler County magistrate was awarded $1 million in a lawsuit. It's not over

HAMILTON, Ohio – A former Butler County magistrate was awarded $1.1 million in damages for a violation of her right to exercise her religious beliefs. But her six-year-long lawsuit is not over yet.

Kim Edelstein said in court documents that she asked for eight days off in October for the High Holy Days and her boss at the time, Butler County Common Pleas Judge Greg Stephens, reacted badly and then fired her shortly afterward.

The Enquirer reached out to Edelstein and Stephens for comment via emails and phone calls but did not receive a response.

What happened?

Edelstein started working for Stephens in March 2016, after the judge she was previously working for retired.

Edelstein said in court documents that she approached Stephens in July 2016 to ask for eight nonconsecutive days off for the High Holy Days in October. She said Stephens “shouted at her in an irritating tone” and said “Holy Cow! Eight Days?! Can I say that or will you be offended?!”

Stephens admitted in court documents that he said “Holy cow” at some point while talking to Edelstein about the time off but denied the rest of the exclamation and the tone.

Two days after Edelstein asked for the time off, Stephens fired her.

When she asked why, he said, “You don’t fit in,” according to Edelstein's court filings.

Stephens said in court documents that he did tell Edelstein that she did not fit in, in the context that she was "unable to get along with the rest of the staff" and he needed his staff to work together.

Edelstein said Stephens contested her application for unemployment and told a state agency she was fired for poor work performance. Stephens denied this in court documents.

In February 2017, Edelstein filed a charge of discrimination with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The commission issued a “notice of right to sue” letter. She filed the civil rights lawsuit in federal court in May 2017.

Edelstein said in court filings that she was offered a job with Wood County Prosecutor's Office in March 2017 and was fired because of her lawsuit. Her boss in Wood County told The Enquirer she lied about being fired in Butler County and when she could start work and didn't get along with her coworkers.

The Southern Baptist Convention and Judaism

Edelstein questioned Stephens during the trial about his religious beliefs and time as a Southern Baptist pastor at churches in Ross, Fairfield and Oxford.

Stephens became a deacon and Sunday school teacher at Bible Baptist Church in Fairfield in 2018.

The Southern Baptist Church is the largest evangelical Protestant denomination in the U.S., according to the Pew Research Center. In 1999, the Southern Baptists' International Missions Board published a guide during the Jewish High Holy Days encouraging Southern Baptists to pray for the conversion of Jewish people.

This sparked protest from a number of Jewish groups. Jewish leaders told the New York Times at the time that the prayer guide "smacks of imperialism" and was a "significant challenge to the integrity of our faith."

The Southern Baptist Church is not alone in a history of targeting Jews for conversion. The Catholic Church announced in 2002 that Jews do not need to be converted to Christianity to be saved.

Stephens testified during the trial that he believes if someone does not receive forgiveness for their sins, then they will be eternally separated from God and spend eternity in hell. He said he doesn't hold it against his friends if they are not "saved."

"I'd like to see everybody accept and go to heaven and so forth. But, I mean, I have tons of friends that don't know Christ as their savior and I don't – we're able to enjoy good, friendly relations. I don't hold it against them because, quite frankly, that decision is between them and God," Stephens said at the trial.

What did the court decide?

Earlier this year, a jury found that Stephens violated Edelstein's First Amendment right to the free exercise of religion. They awarded her $835,000 in back pay, $250,000 in compensatory damages and $35,000 in punitive damages, for a total of over $1 million.

Edelstein also claimed Stephens' actions were discriminatory and therefore a violation of the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The jury found in favor of Stephens on that count.

What happens now?

Stephens filed a motion for a new trial March 3. He argued that the evidence did not support that Edelstein was fired for reasons protected by the First Amendment and said the jury's verdict on the First Amendment is inconsistent with the judgment on the Fourteenth Amendment.

Stephens also argued that the back pay and compensatory damages the jury awarded Edelstein should have been cut off when she got a new job with the Wood County Prosecutor's Office. He said she should not have been awarded punitive damages.

He also said a new trial is necessary because of Edelstein's conduct during the trial and said she made "repeated and excessive" references to issues and evidence not in the record in front of the jury.

Edelstein appealed part of the verdict on March 6. She said in the filing that Sixth Circuit Judge Michael Barrett improperly instructed the jury and merged two counts concerning separate laws into one count regarding employment discrimination.

She also appealed the decision to dismiss Butler County as a defendant in the case, which she argued is necessary to hold the county liable for the actions of its officials.

Hearings on the motion and the appeal have not yet been scheduled.

Erin Glynn is the watchdog reporter for Butler, Warren and Clermont counties through the Report For America program. The Enquirer needs local donors to help fund her grant-funded position. If you want to support Glynn's work, you can donate to her Report For America position at this website or email her editor Carl Weiser at cweiser@enquirer.com to find out how you can help fund her work. 

Do you know something she should know? Send her a note at eglynn@enquirer.com and follow her on Twitter at @ee_glynn.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Butler County discrimination lawsuit: What we know post verdict