VOTE411 Voter Guide

For the past 21 years I’ve been a judicial officer, however my prior legal experience primarily involved protecting children and positioned me to be eminently[KC1.1] qualified as a domestic relations judge. I trained as a guardian ad litem (GAL) at Summit County Juvenile Court, appointed to represent the best interest of children on cases involving child abuse, neglect and dependency. In addition, [KC2.1]I was appointed by the Summit County Domestic Relations Court as a GAL on custody issues and was tasked with interviewing children, their parents and reporting my recommendations. I was also trained to interview children when I was an assistant prosecutor specializing in child sex abuse cases and conducted numerous interviews to prepare child-victims for trial. While maintaining my law practice, I received mediation training and was employed at Summit County Common Pleas Court mediating civil cases, and by Stark County Family Court resolving domestic relations issues

Having been elected to the Summit County Domestic Relations Court in 2016 and 2020, I hope to continue my life’s work to better the lives of children. I have been most effective in fulfilling that mission as administrative judge. Being re-elected will ensure the beneficial programs that I have initiated will grow. One example is the Family Recovery Court- a voluntary court program that provides parents a support framework when dealing with the effects of chemical dependency and/or mental health issues. The Court’s first Settlement Week will provide free mediation to resolve issues in less time. And this Court’s collaboration with the Ohio Justice Bus has provided neighborhood free legal clinics where I resolve cases which provides access to justice needed for self-represented parties. Everyone in one way or another is impacted by divorce or families separating. The community deserves an experienced judge to continue to provide fair and timely resolution for their families.

Judges are expected to be fair and impartial, providing individual attention to each case, while managing their docket within Ohio Supreme Court time guidelines. The number of case filings and pleadings increase-however, the court staff does not. Litigation is time-consuming for both the court and the parties, and especially costly for the litigants. In addition, parties often have emergent needs and the Court must handle their requests. Responding to the community’s concerns, as administrative judge I have initiated the Summit County Domestic Relations Court’s first Settlement Week July 27-31st. The goal is to provide not only free mediation facilitating settlement and therefore avoiding costly litigation. This will also be an “Agreement Express” Week- a same day service with a magistrate on call to review and hear parties’ agreements. Respecting parties, understanding their limitations, and avoiding multiple trips to appear in Court is just one way to address these challenges.

When a person is a defendant in a criminal case and cannot afford legal representation, Ohio law requires that they be provided free legal counsel. However, in the domestic relations realm, when a party files a complaint, or has to answer, that is a civil matter and no attorney is provided free of charge. While there are extremely limited free legal services offered for victims of domestic violence, providing access to justice should equate to affordable legal representation. The courts are not permitted to give legal advice-only explaining legal procedures. Through a joint effort with the Ohio Justice Bus, every other month I bring the court and a free legal clinic to neighborhoods across Summit County. Volunteer attorneys meet with people and answer legal questions. I hold hearings on site so that they don’t have to miss work another day. Community agencies such as Victims Assistance Program are on hand. By providing outreach, people are more likely to engage and access justice.

For more than 25 years, I have represented families and protected children in the Domestic Relations Courts across four local counties. This includes representing family members in divorce, dissolution, custody, paternity, spousal and child support, grandparents’ rights, and same-sex parental rights. I have served as a guardian ad litem for children and worked to protect victims of domestic violence, which also includes children. I am an Equity Partner and Chair of the Family Law Practice Group at one of Akron's oldest law firms. I have written briefs and argued before the Ninth and Eleventh District Courts of Appeals, and previously clerked in the Summit County and Portage County Prosecutors' Offices. I currently serve as the first-ever elected Law Director for the City of Green as the legal advisor to the Mayor, the Council, and all departments, boards, and commissions of the City.

I am running for this specific court seat because I plan to restore leadership and compassion to the Summit County Domestic Relations Court. Over the past decade, our court's leadership has come to lack a clear mission focused on compassion for children and families. My broad experience across four local domestic relations courts has given me a deep understanding of the need for families to have a compassionate court with leadership that has the heart and the expertise to address families in crisis. When families are so broken that they need to reach out to the court for a legal remedy, they are already suffering from trauma. Coming to court can add to the suffering when you have an apathetic court. But with a judge with the right approach and experience, it can be a place of solace and solution. I plan to bring my experience and my vision to make our court that place of solace and solution for families and children.

Leadership of a family court has a meaningful impact when it has one mission: providing resources to families during crisis to restore them to healing and wholeness. Our court’s current programs fail in that mission. I want to implement new programs. Attempts to use once standardized methods that no longer fit the modern family are outdated and ineffective. Children are the casualty. They are the ones who live in the middle of that conflict and feel it the most. They are also the ones without choice. We could remedy this by implementing new programs that directly involve children. As a professional, I have seen firsthand the effect that family trauma has on children. I also have personal experience as a child of divorce, as a divorced mother, as a step-mother, and now as a grandmother. I plan to improve our court by better utilizing our community resources that are designed to serve today's children and families.

Often, in order to obtain even a simple divorce, there are multiple hearings and other mandatory court appointments with professionals like mediators, court evaluators, and guardian ad litems. In addition to the length of time that the process takes, it adds to the expense by way of attorney's fees and time off work. There are no juries in divorce court, so all determinations are made by one person: either the magistrate or the judge. In our court, there are two different judges and 14 different magistrates -- all of whom may have a different philosophy or approach, which can result in different outcomes for the folks who come before the court. Extremes and great disparities in outcomes cannot be fair. A court having one united mission would result in equal justice, a more efficient process, and serve to lessen the stress and tension families experience during protracted litigation, which would ultimately result in a more stable environment for the children.