A public defender has been reassigned to another Akron judge’s courtroom, two weeks after police say she and the judge were found partially clothed in the backseat of a car that smelled of alcohol.Defense attorney Catherine Loya no longer will defend cases in Judge Joy Malek Oldfield’s courtroom, Chief Public Defender Joseph Kodish said Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Akron Bar Association, which investigates attorneys for potential ethics violations, requested and received Copley police documents regarding the incident. An investigation could lead to discipline by the Ohio Supreme Court.Kodish said Loya’s move is a reaction to growing publicity and after his meeting Tuesday with Akron City Prosecutor Doug Powley, who only learned of the Oldfield-Loya incident through media reports.Since her Feb. 5 arrest, Loya continued to represent indigent defendants in Oldfield’s court despite pending drunken driving-related charges in which the judge was a passenger and a potential witness in the case.In addition, Oldfield occasionally has driven Loya to and from work after Loya lost her driving privileges for refusing to take a breath test following her arrest.“I just decided, in light of everything, I decided I would do that,” Kodish said of Loya’s reassignment. “I think it’s good for everybody’s sake. I don’t have any specific reason other than that.”Kodish has not determined Loya’s new courtroom assignment.On Saturday, he acknowledged Loya was still working regularly in Oldfield’s court, but said she eventually would move as part of a regular rotation among attorneys. He said he allowed Loya to stay in the court for more than two weeks, because he didn’t view the Feb. 5 incident as an ethical conflict.“I didn’t think that it was inappropriate then,” he said. “What changed? Nothing. I just wanted to do it. Nothing has changed, other than the fact that it puts everybody in a difficult position based on publicity that has been going around. I just thought that it would be the best thing for her right now.”Loya’s attorney, Ed Bonetti, declined comment Tuesday.While Powley was unaware of Loya’s ties to Oldfield, his assistant prosecutor assigned to the courtroom was told of the incident shortly after it occurred and never informed her boss.The assistant, Gertrude Wilms, who like Oldfield is a Democrat, said she supports the judge and Loya. She does not believe a conflict exists, nor did she detect any rulings favoring Loya.Powley agreed with the assessment on Oldfield’s rulings, but said he scolded Wilms during a meeting Tuesday for failing to tell him of the incident.“I’ve handled that internally and instructed Gert on that matter,” he said. “It’s nothing you can put in the Beacon, because I was cussing at her. I used strong terms to advise on the importance of following my procedures manual.”Loya, 30, is charged in Barberton Municipal Court with having physical control of a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, a misdemeanor. She was convicted of similar charges in 2009.The judge has not commented on the incident. Her attorney, John Hill, has questioned the veracity of the police report and supplement that the arresting officer, Copley Patrolman Thomas Ballinger, wrote.Hill also has questioned when the supplement, which contains the most scandalous accusations, was written. He speculated it was written 10 days after the event.The report, however, is “an accurate reflection” and was written the night of the incident, Copley Police Chief Michael Mier has said.That report has been sent to the Akron Bar Association. Attorney Bill Chris, who serves as counsel for the association’s Grievance Committee, first learned of the incident from media reports and on Tuesday confirmed he requested a copy of the incident report and supplement.The group has the ability to bring complaints to the Ohio Supreme Court for disciplinary action. Oldfield, 36, has been a judge since January.“I got the report from the police, but anything we do is confidential,” Chris said. He declined further comment.In his report, Ballinger said he found Loya and Oldfield in a parked car stopped in a strip mall about 1:45 a.m. Feb. 5. The officer said that as he approached the Toyota, he “observed a female’s head raise up from the back seat and look out the back window.”He then saw “two female subjects placing their clothing items on and then exit the back seat and move to the front seats.”The officer said he smelled alcohol coming from the car when he talked to the women. Oldfield, who is married with two children, identified herself as a judge and said it was she who had been drinking.Hill said the officer’s reportis “untrue” and that the women were not in the backseat or in a state of undress. He said they were driving to Oldfield’s home and stopped at the parking lot to allow the judge to smoke a cigarette and collect her emotions. Earlier, Oldfield was distraught about the health of a relative, Hill has said.Phil Trexler can be reached at 330-996-3717 or ptrexler@thebeaconjournal.com.