Special prosecutors on Jason Meade trial paid more than the county prosecutor's salary

Franklin County has so far paid two attorneys more than $355,000 to serve as special prosecutors in the murder case against former Franklin County Sheriff's deputy Jason Meade, a matter that remains unresolved after a three-week jury trial ended Friday in a mistrial.

The Franklin County Prosecutor's office told The Dispatch in response to a public records request that the county has paid lead attorney Tim Merkle about $230,000 to work on Meade's case and paid Gary Shroyer about $125,000 over the past three years. The payments first came from the prosecutor's office and then a county Board of Commissioners' risk management fund.

But those numbers do not include payments for more recent work in January and February, including Meade's trial in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

For context, Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack's annual salary was $158,067 in 2023, as set by Ohio law. Five senior attorneys in the office were paid more than Tyack, with the highest-paid attorney in the criminal division making about $182,000 last year, according to the county's open finance website.

Common Pleas Judge David Young declared a mistrial for a second time Friday after a jury could not decide whether Meade was guilty of two counts of murder and one count of reckless homicide for fatally shooting Casey Goodson Jr. on Dec. 4, 2020, at his residence in Columbus' North Linden.

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Tyack's office could not prosecute Meade because the prosecutor's office represents county agencies, including the sheriff's office, and is representing the county in the civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court brought by Goodson's family. In instances with a clear conflict of interest, county prosecutors have three options for obtaining special prosecutors: appoint and pay independent attorneys; ask another county prosecutor's office to step in; or ask the Ohio Attorney General's office to step in.

Tyack has taken all three approaches at different times. Montgomery County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Josh Shaw assisted Shroyer and Merkle with the Meade case.

Recently, in a mutual swap of officer shooting cases, Tyack tapped the Montgomery County Prosecutor's office to handle the case of a Blendon Township police officer who shot and killed Ta'Kiya Young and her unborn baby last year during a confrontation in the parking lot of a Kroger's store where Young was accused of shoplifting alcohol.

Tyack told The Dispatch that, ethically, he can't be involved in controlling the payments made to Merkle and Shroyer.

"I had two people who know a lot about criminal law and trying cases," Tyack said. "I don't evaluate things based on jury verdicts. What I really want to know is was the case fairly tried. As far as I can tell, they have been doing a good job of being fair."

Asked why he would use private attorneys over options that cost the county less, Tyack said:

"I have to have a consistent ability to use a special prosecutor. I prefer to be able to pay somebody in that role."

More: Should Jason Meade be tried again? Franklin County prosecutor candidates offer opinion

Merkle bills $250 per hour, according to his agreements with the prosecutor's office and county. The rate goes down under certain circumstances, such as if Shroyer is also present.

Mark R. Weaver, an attorney who has served as a special prosecutor in more than a dozen counties around the state, told The Dispatch that Merkle's hourly rate is not outrageous.

"For an experienced litigator, that is not a lot of money. That is less than what he would typically make in a case where he was hired to be defense counsel," Weaver said.

Merkle, 71, was an assistant prosecuting attorney for Franklin County from 1978 to 1990. Shroyer, 66, was an assistant prosecuting attorney for Franklin County for eight years. They were both senior attorneys by the time they left the prosecutor's office. Since then, both have worked in private practice in civil and criminal law.

Asked Monday if they would retry Meade and if they had any comment about their fees, Merkle and Shroyer sent a statement in an email that read in part:

"We are mindful of the frustration that the lack of a final verdict has caused (the Goodson family) and the community. We are assessing our options and will have no further comment until that process is completed."

Tyack has also appointed Merkle and Shroyer to prosecute former Columbus police officer Ricky Anderson, who was a K-9 handler, for fatally shooting Donovan Lewis in August 2022.

For the Anderson case, the county has paid Merkle about $40,000 so far, according to records provided to The Dispatch. It was unclear if some payments made to Shroyer attributed to the Meade case were also for working on the Anderson case.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Special prosecutors on Jason Meade trial paid hundreds of thousands