Demand the Judicial Disqualification of Judge Antonio S. Nicholson: Stop the Abuse of Pro Se Black Women in Courtroom 17-C of the Justice Center In Cleveland, Ohio Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas 

 

My name is Tesia Thomas. I am a Black woman currently standing completely unrepresented as a pro se plaintiff in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

I am launching this petition to expose a systematic breakdown of judicial neutrality, blatant docket fabrication, and an aggressive pattern of personal degradation under sitting Judge Antonio S. Nicholson just weeks before the general election.

This lawsuit is a defamation per se action arising from a devastating violation of my bodily autonomy. I was a victim of sexual assault by an individual named Donte Sales. I am alleging with heaps of evidence that I was targeted with a malicious defamation campaign by my assailant's play uncle, Defendant Fidel Conde and the rest of their friends' group. 

As a survivor fighting for my rights without a lawyer, I am being subjected to a coordinated courtroom ambush where the court actively shields perpetrators and tolerates bold-faced lies:

1. Active Insulation of Witness Intimidation and Perjury:

In a related Civil Stalking Protection Order (CSPO) proceeding, my assailant, Donte Sales, formally admitted under oath to acts of intimidation. Furthermore, he executed a "declaration of completeness" enforcing my civil trial subpoena, swearing under penalty of perjury that he possessed "no documents at all"—only to turn around in the CSPO case and produce the exact physical documents he swore did not exist. Another victim, deeply traumatized by this systemic intimidation and his admitted under oath intimidation of her, has silently defied her trial subpoena in my case out of fear. When I presented this absolute felony fraud on the court to Judge Nicholson at the August 3 hearing, he shut me down on the microphone, declaring, "We're not hearing that... Mr. Sales is not even a party to this case," completely refusing to protect the integrity of his own ledger. The hearing was specifically slated by Judge Nicholson to be about witness subpoenas and if Donte Sales were a party to the case then I would've served interrogatories not a subpoena and that highlights the absolute absurdity of Judge Nicholson's excuse. 

 

2. Unchecked Material Misrepresentations:

Opposing Counsel Ziad Tayeh stood at the podium and manufactured a completely fake "trauma history" to strip my bodily privacy. Public dockets prove my prior cases were strictly small claims property damage disputes where recovering psychological trauma is nearly a jurisdictional impossibility. Opposing counsel has been caught in a web of material lies that could be disproved in 20 seconds, yet Judge Nicholson completely refused to check his monitor, absorbing the defense's fraud as gospel truth.

 

3. The "We Don't Believe You" Waiver Trap:

On August 3, 2026, Courtroom 17-C completely abandoned its constitutional mandate of absolute detachment. Verbatim, certified hearing transcripts forensically document that Judge Nicholson group-aligned himself with the hostile defense bar, declaring to me on a live microphone: “We need a third-party or some type of document saying that because we don’t believe you... look, just like Mr. Tayeh said.” When I stood my ground and cited binding Ohio Supreme Court privacy precedent (Medical Mutual of Ohio v. Schlotterer), he mocked my higher education, asking, "So you can understand English, right?" to bully me into waiving my statutory privacy shields.

 

Independent members of the Ohio Bar have directly verified this hostile dynamic, confirming in writing that “there was definitely an unfair slant to what was happening in the Courtroom.” No wonder he is "Not Recommended" by the people who actually practice law before him: Ohio prosecutors and defense attorneys. 

The court and the defense bar operate under the automated assumption that an unrepresented Black woman and survivor can be gaslit, bullied, and kept permanently on the defensive until her resolve collapses. I reject that blueprint. I have the facts, I have the certified evidence, and the dockets prove the blockade.

Judge Nicholson is an appointed incumbent facing a critical general election on November 3, 2026. Voters have an absolute right to audit the record of Courtroom 17-C. Sign this petition to demand immediate accountability, an independent audit of this docket by the Supreme Court of Ohio, and to let Cuyahoga County know that we will not tolerate a bench that protects intimidators while degrading survivors.

We have to ask ourselves as We the People if we want Judges to ignore evidence, let their staff attorneys (Attorney Colin Mischak is Judge Nicholson's) count filings with their feelings in a deliberate attempt to build a fake mathematical foundation to label Pro Se vexatious, and blindly believe the defense in order to close cases quickly for their Ohio Supreme Court case metrics because that is what I'm saying Judge Nicholson is doing. 

I built this record. 

I got JDs/licensed attorneys to commit MATERIAL misrepresentations on the record.

I got my perpetrator to panic and commit likely clear cross case double perjury under oath, file a CSPO case with the likely purpose to intimidate and silence me, and to admit to intimidating one of his other victims, a possible Giles waiver. 

I got my perpetrator's dad, Clarence Sales, to either commit perjury or, to admit to his family member's severe violation of ethics and law on the record talking about he called in a favor of his brother's mother who is a retired U.S. Marshall to investigate me (paraphrasing from memory but it was ridiculous.)

I am the confidant, shield, and protector of Donte Sales' victims who reached out to me. Many of them wish to remain anonymous and will likely never report. 

I built this record with my bare hands. I forced these errors and FELONIES.

I deserve the full extent of justice. 

Judge Nicholson is unworthy of being a judge based on his actions on my case.

CHECK THE RECORD. 

Note:

 

With the MATERIAL misrepresentations of Opposing Counsel Ziad Tayeh in my cases, there should be evidentiary sanctions which eliminate much of the need for trial. With the likely FELONIES of my perpetrator already being public record, the public can already see and confirm his material public deceit and intimidation of two of his victims, judges, magistrates, and more. So, I firmly disagree that this petition tampers any jury pool in any case. 

This petition also talks about PAST PROVABLE behavior from the judge and should not influence my case any more than it already being public record does. He's already been unfairly harming my case. What more can he do besides kill it?

The files live with the Supreme Court of Ohio as well in 26-AD-203 so gag orders from the judge won't work. If the problem was solved what need would I have for this petition?

 

Paid for and distributed independently by Tesia Thomas, 163 Willis Street, Bedford, OH 44146.