Upper Sandusky woman alleges violations of civil rights

In the next chapter of a saga begun two years ago in Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court Judge Mark Repp's courtroom, Alexzandria H. Orta, of Upper Sandusky, filed a complaint Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio against Repp, Tiffin-Fostoria Municipal Court and Seneca County Sheriff Fred Stevens. The complaint alleges the defending parties deprived her of her civil and constitutional rights relating to a March 2020 incident in which she was held in contempt of court and jailed after Repp attempted to subject her to a drug test while she spectated in his courtroom. The complaint claims 15 separate counts of civil and constitutional violations. In the filing, Orta and her legal counsel claim the defendants subjected her to "public embarrassment, belittling and harassing treatment, invasion of privacy, wrongful detainment, multiple invasive searches of her person ... her right to privacy, her right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, and her right to due process of law before being deprived of her liberty." It goes on to claim the defendants "misused their official powers" and "acted intentionally, knowingly, willfully, and with gross disregard of (Orta)'s rights, in condoning the oppressive acts and injuries" against her. The complaint, filed by Orta's lawyer includes a demand for a jury trial. It also clarifies no claims are made against Stevens personally, as he did not take office as Seneca County Sheriff until January 2021. Repp was suspended from practicing law in Ohio for one year in November 2021, almost a year after a certified complaint was made against him to the Ohio Supreme Court regarding his conduct in March 2020. The complaint made to the state's high court alleged Repp held Orta in contempt of court for refusing to take a drug test, despite the fact that she made no disturbance in the courtroom and had no case pending, was not on probation and had never been charged with or convicted of a drug-related offense, documents related to the case stated. When Orta refused to take the test, Repp sentenced her to 10 days in the Seneca County Jail. Orta was released the next day after her attorney, Dean Henry, and Seneca County Prosecuting Attorney Derek DeVine questioned Repp's legal authority to hold a spectator in contempt, considering the circumstances. Later, the Third District Court of Appeals found Repp was indeed "without the authority to compel Orta to submit to a drug test," let alone sentence her to jail, according to court records. Disciplinary Counsel Joseph Caligiuri filed the disciplinary complaint against Repp in December 2020. The first formal hearing took place in April 2021, and the Board of Professional Conduct filed its recommendation to the Supreme Court in June 2021.