WARREN — Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Morrow argued in an appeals court in an illegal bugging case, saying a local judge did not have all the facts to dismiss felony charges against former Liberty Schools Superintendent Joseph Nohra.

Morrow and defense attorney Brian P. Kopp presented their cases before 11th District Appellate Judges Matt Lynch, Mary Jane Trapp and Thomas R. Wright. Also presenting an argument Tuesday on behalf of the state was a representative of Solicitor General Benjamin Flowers’ office.

Each lawyer had a limited time to state their positions to the judges. The trio of jurists took these oral arguments under advisement and will make a ruling at a later date.

Morrow said the charges involve invasion of privacy issues as Nohra, while superintendent, was accused of bugging an office in 2018 in order to catch a district employee school officials believed had perpetrated a theft.

An email sent to Kopp seeking comments about his participating in the oral arguments was not returned.

Most of the criminal case against Nohra was dismissed Dec. 31, 2021, by Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Ronald J. Rice. In his written ruling, Rice wrote he was “dismissing counts 1 through 6 of the indictment for vagueness.”

The ruling called off a scheduled jury trial set for early January this year.

Five misdemeanor charges against Nohra remain and will be dealt with after the 11th District Court of Appeals rules on the appeal of the felony case against the former school official. Prosecutors had offered a six-month jail term if Nohra pleaded guilty to the misdemeanors, but court records show the defendant declined.

Nohra, 51, of Topper Hill Drive, Hubbard, was indicted in a special report of a Trumbull County grand jury in May 2021 on six felony counts of interception of wire, oral or electronic communications and five misdemeanor counts of interfering with civil rights.

“As we have said previously, Mr. Nohra, at the discretion of the school board, and with approval of legal counsel, took appropriate action to protect the district and the taxpayers. He should have been commended instead of prosecuted,” one of his attorneys, David Betras, has stated.

In his ruling, Rice stated “the court finds that there is lack of guidance as to what constitutes an oral communication in this regard and that such lack of guidance leads to the arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement of this statute.”

Morrow said his office contends the state law on illegal bugging of a public place is constitutional.

The indictment stated that Nohra, when he was superintendent, set up a hidden surveillance camera and audio above an employee’s desk in the district office, in the bus garage. The allegations came from an investigation initiated by the state auditor’s office that was executed through a search warrant by local authorities at the Liberty schools on March 5, 2019.

Nohra at the time was presented with credible evidence that a school employee may have been involved in theft in office, his attorneys state. Nohra, with the knowledge and approval of the school board and its legal counsel, initiated his own investigation that resulted in that employee’s resignation.

The alleged criminal offenses occurred over a two-week period in April 2018, the prosecutor’s office stated. Nohra resigned as Liberty superintendent in June 2020.

Meanwhile, a civil lawsuit also is proceeding against Nohra in Rice’s court.

In that complaint, filed in July 2021, seven people claim their privacy was affected by secret recordings ordered by the former superintendent.

Depositions of witnesses must be completed by Sept. 15, with all motions about arguments of facts and law to be filed by Nov. 1,

The final pretrial hearing will be Jan. 24, 2023, and a jury trial is set Feb. 13, 2023.

Named as plaintiffs in the civil action are former or current school district employees Christine Gallaugher of Hubbard, Rick Svetlak of Poland, Dale Fuller of Girard, Karen Copenhaver of Hubbard and Leslie Diana of Youngstown and two others, Gallaugher’s husband David and close friend Francine Delbene of McDonald. Named as co-defendant with Nohra is the Liberty Local Board of Education.

The plaintiffs, who claim invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress, together are seeking more than $595,000 in damages.

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