The House voted 89-4 to make it illegal to threaten a judge and to increase penalties for assaulting or murdering a member of the judiciary.

"It is unacceptable to allow a criminal to intimidate an officer of the court," said Rep. Lorraine Fende, D-Willowick, a joint sponsor of the bill.

"For too long we have done too little to send a clear and unmistakable message to those that seek to harm our judges, who are the backbone of our judicial system."

The bill now goes to the Senate.

Aggravated assault against a judge or magistrate, for example, would go from a fourth-degree felony to a third-degree felony with a mandatory one-year prison sentence. Penalties for simple assault and aggravated menacing also would be increased.

Fende said she introduced the bill after hearing of an increased number of assaults and threats against judges.

Lawmakers have been told stories of threats and abuse endured by some Ohio judges, including Judge Robert H. Hoover of the Licking County Probate-Juvenile Court, who once had a fake bomb attached to his car and has received numerous rape threats against his wife.

Hoover has a letter, signed in blood, from a 16-year-old prisoner who threatened to kill him, his kids and his pets, sever his wife's limbs, burn down his house and blow up the courthouse.

Painesville Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti told lawmakers about the fear of leaving his home after a bomb threat against him and his family.

The bill also would further close off Ohio's public-records law by excluding the residential and family information of probation officers.

In other business, the House approved additional qualifications for someone to become a county sheriff. Under House Bill 28, a candidate for the office must have at least two years of supervisory experience in law enforcement or have completed a two-year associate degree.

The bill now moves to the Senate.

jsiegel@dispatch.com