The Ohio Supreme Court has upheld its decision from earlier this year overturning Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge’s order acquitting Nancy Smith in the controversial Head Start child molestation case.

Allen

Smith

The Supreme Court ruled in January that Burge didn’t have the power to acquit Smith of the charges that led to her imprisonment for nearly 15 years before Burge freed her and codefendant Joseph Allen in 2009.

Burge had acquitted the pair after a flaw in the original sentencing entries — the entries were supposed to note Smith and Allen were convicted by a jury, but didn’t — prepared following their convictions during their 1994 trial was discovered. The judge said he reviewed the evidence in the case in preparation for new sentencing entries, but became convinced there wasn’t enough evidence to convict them.

County Prosecutor Dennis Will and the Ohio Attorney General’s Office fought Burge’s decision to the state’s highest court, arguing that Burge should only have corrected the flaw in Smith’s sentencing entry rather than effectively reopening the case and the Supreme Court agreed.

Allen’s case isn’t covered by the Supreme Court decision, but a 9th District Court of Appeals decision has said Burge lacked the power to revisit his case as well. Two other appeals — one dealing with Smith’s case and the other with Allen’s — also were dismissed by the Ohio Supreme Court today.

Burge has said that unless the Supreme Court reverses its decision from January, he will have little choice but to return Smith and Allen to prison.

Attorneys for Smith have been working on several other efforts to keep Smith, who like Allen denies molesting 4- and 5-year-old children on her Head Start bus route in the 1990s, back to prison.

Read Wednesday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Round 1 in the showdown between unlikely AL Central leaders went to Cleveland.

Pinch-hitter Shelley Duncan’s RBI double sparked a four-run 10th inning and the Indians beat Kansas City 7-3 Monday night to widen their division lead to two games over the equally surprising Royals.

Duncan batted for Travis Buck after Carlos Santana drew a walk from rookie left-hander Tim Collins (1-1) to start the 10th. Duncan hooked an RBI double into the left-field corner, driving home the tiebreaking run in Cleveland’s fourth straight win.
“He hits lefties,” Indians manager Manny Acta said. “He’s our best option against lefties. He’s proven that over the years.”

More photos below.

In perhaps the most encouraging sign for the Indians, Grady Sizemore, in his second game back from knee surgery, added an RBI single and was 3-for-5 after going 2-for-4 Sunday in his first game since May 16.

“The reason I came over here was to enjoy this guy from the dugout after seeing him over the last seven-eight years,” Acta said. “It’s nice to have him back.”

Collins, one of three rookie relievers who have played a big part in Kansas City’s strong start, gave up four hits and four runs in one inning.

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“Real bad,” he said. “It’s always a rough night when you go out and give up four runs. I wasn’t making my pitches. I wasn’t in the strike zone. When I did get it in the strike zone, they hit it.”

Joe Smith (1-0) got the victory with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief.

Expected by most observers to remain also-rans in the AL Central this year, the Indians and Royals had not been first and second this late in the season in any order since May 31, 1999, when Cleveland led the Royals and White Sox by 10 games en route to a fifth straight division title. That also was the last time the Indians started a season as well they’ve started this one, winning 12 of their first 16.

One out after Duncan’s double, Michael Brantley walked. Matt LaPorta grounded into a fielder’s choice and pinch-runner Adam Everett scored on shortstop Alcides Escobar’s throwing error. Jack Hannahan followed with an RBI double and Sizemore made it 7-3 with his third hit.

“We didn’t help ourselves, that’s for sure,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. “We really struggled to command the ball, especially out of the ’pen. Leadoff walks and the 10th inning hurt us.”

The Royals scored twice to take a 3-2 lead in the sixth on Melky Cabrera’s RBI double and an RBI single by Alex Gordon, who tied his career high with a 12-game hitting streak, the longest in the majors this year.

Billy Butler’s single made it four straight hits off starter Carlos Carrasco and put runners at first and second. But the right-hander escaped further damage by retiring Kila Ka’aihue on a foul pop and coaxing a double-play grounder out of Jeff Francoeur.

Royals starter Kyle Davies was charged with two runs and seven hits in six innings. He struck out seven, walked none and was relieved by Jeremy Jeffress, who walked Brantley on four pitches to start the seventh and then threw wildly to first on a pickoff attempt, allowing the runner to move up two bases.

LaPorta, after hitting an RBI single that tied it 3-all, went to second on Jeffress’ wild pitch. With one out, Jeffress walked Sizemore and Asdrubal Cabrera and handed a bases-loaded jam to reliever Aaron Crow, who struck out Shin-Soo Choo and retired Santana on a pop fly.

“On a positive note, Kyle Davies pitched great — six strong innings,” Yost said. “Aaron Crow did a phenomenal job with the bases loaded.”

Santana had an RBI double in the first and Cleveland took a 2-1 lead in the third on Choo’s sacrifice fly.

Wilson Betemit had a sacrifice fly in the second for the Royals and singled leading off the seventh, tying his career best with a 10-game hitting streak.

Notable

• It was Butler’s 25th birthday.
• The two AL Central leaders will play each other seven times in 11 days, including a three-game series next week in Cleveland.
• Carrasco’s first major league win was against the Royals last Sept. 17. He pitched 6 1-3 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits.
• Gordon also had a 12-game hitting streak in 2008.
• The Royals failed to score in the eighth despite two Cleveland errors.

ELYRIA — Mayor Bill Grace, Holly Brinda and David Ursi Jr. traded words Monday at Elyria High School, where students hosted a debate for the candidates and peppered contenders with question about improving city roads to bringing jobs to the city and how each feels about the controversial Senate Bill 5.

The debate was mostly amicable with the candidates using their allotted time to speak their views. However, Grace and Brinda did not mince words when speaking of the other.

More photos below.

Brinda is unprepared and untested, according to Grace, who she is trying to unseat by securing the Democratic nomination in May.

Grace, who is seeking a fourth re-election, is wasteful, has misplaced priorities and places aesthetics over basic city services and business development, Brinda said.

With a format that included both a five-minute opening and closing statement as well as two minutes each to answer six questions designed and asked by students, all three had an equal amount of time to rally potential voters to swing their way.

Ursi, the only Republican to attend the debate, will face off against fellow Republican Ray Noble on May 3.

He vows to give $20,000 of his salary back to the city and hire one student a month to work as mayor for the day, if he is elected.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

CLEVELAND — Even with a new center fielder and leadoff hitter in the lineup, the red-hot Indians didn’t miss a beat Sunday at Progressive Field.

Of course, the player filling both roles for the first time this season was none other than Grady Sizemore.

That always helps.

With Sizemore making his debut, Cleveland stayed hot and beat Baltimore 4-2 to clinch a three-game sweep. The Indians (11-4) won their seventh straight at home, while collecting their 11th victory in 13 games to move into sole possession of first place in the Central Division.

More photos below.

“I was definitely hoping for a win today,” said Sizemore, who made his long-awaited return, playing in his first game since May 16 of last year. “I didn’t want to come in and ruin the streak.

“It was definitely exciting. It was one of those things where I definitely had some jitters, especially during that first at-bat.”

Sizemore, who is coming back from microfracture surgery on his left knee, received a warm greeting from the hometown fans. The standing ovation came before he grounded out to second base to start the bottom of the first inning.

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In his second trip to the plate, Sizemore paid back the fans, belting a 2-0 fastball from Orioles starter Brad Bergesen over the right-field wall for a solo home run that put the Indians in front 2-0.

“It was very nice to see Grady come back today and make a very nice contribution right off the bat,” manager Manny Acta said. “He looked good. He was on time at the plate. I think this was huge, because of where he’s coming from.”

“I was just trying to put some good swings together,” said Sizemore, who went 2-for-4, adding a double in the fifth inning. “I definitely wasn’t trying to hit a home run, but it was nice to have some good at-bats today.

“The team’s been playing great. I can’t help but get excited about how the guys are playing. I just want to come in here and fit in and not change any of that.”

Though they have played well in his absence, the Indians are happy to have the three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove award winner back in the fold.

“I think today is the first day I’ve ever seen him healthy,” closer Chris Perez said. “He put on a show. It’s just going to help us out. It’s a tremendous uplift.”

“He’s one of the best players in the game when he’s healthy,” Acta said.

Sizemore’s homer, his first since Aug. 27, 2009, at Baltimore, was one of three for the Indians, who are in the midst of their longest home winning streak since 2007.

Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner also went deep, as Santana snapped an 0-for-23 skid by leading off the second inning with his second homer for a 1-0 lead.

Hafner hit his fourth homer — a solo shot — with one out in the sixth to put Cleveland in front 4-1. Hafner, who is displaying his power of old, didn’t hit his fourth homer last year until May 22 in his 36th game.

Travis Buck drove in the Indians’ other run with a single in the fourth.

The offensive support was enough for Fausto Carmona, who got his first win after allowing just two runs (one earned) on five hits over seven innings.

Cleveland’s ace, who has pitched well since a disastrous outing on Opening Day, struck out five and walked one.

“He doesn’t have three wins, but he’s got three quality starts since Opening Day,” Acta said.

Carmona (1-2, 4.74 ERA) was perfect through three innings, then allowed his first hit to Brian Roberts and his only earned run in the fourth.

Perez pitched the ninth, retiring the side in order and striking out Luke Scott to end the game and earn his fifth save in as many opportunities.

It put the cap on another momentous day at the park for the Indians, who begin a four-game series against another surprising team, the Royals, at Kansas City tonight.

“It was a very good day, a very good homestand,” Acta said of the three-game stop. “Now we’re ready to go on the road and battle.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.