The Ohio Supreme Court removed Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Judge Peter J. Corrigan from the retrial of Michael Buehner, whose 2002 murder conviction was overturned.
The decision comes as county council was on the verge of approving the $20 million purchase of a site for the jail and the extension of a sales tax to pay for it.
As Cuyahoga County reaches a pivotal stage in its planning for a new county jail, critics of that plan are raising concerns that officials are rushing the project.