VOTE411 Voter Guide

Magistrate, Court of Claims of Ohio, May 2006 - March 2013

For the first fifteen years of my legal career, I served as either a Magsitrate or Staff Attorney which gave me a broad understanding of the workings of the Court and the duties of a Judge. Since I have been in private practice, I have appeared in Court's throughout Northeast Ohio in numerous civil cases involving multiple areas of law, including real estate, civil and commercial litigation, and landlord tenant disputes, and probate and estate matters. I also serve as a certified Guardian Ad Litem. Appearing in various courts and working through complex issues in a variety of legal disciplines as allowed me to experience the methods and practices of a different judges. SEE COMPLETE RESPONSE AT WWW.JUDICIALVOTESCOUNT.ORG

I am seeking office out of a strong desire to serve the community that I love and in which I have chosen to raise my family, and to do my part to ensure that it remains such as my children grow. My experience as a Magistrate, working in a common pleas court, and practicing as private attorney will allow me to smoothly transition to the Common Pleas bench. I veiw the opportunity to serve as a Judge on the Geauga County Court of Common Pleas as the pinnacle of my legal career, one that will provide me the opportunity to serve the legal community and Geauga County as a whole through the strong, fair, and efficient administration of justice.

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I returned to the bench in February 2019, having previously served six years as a judge on the Eleventh District Court of Appeals from 2007 to 2013. I have served as its Presiding/Administrative Judge on four occasions. I have also served as a visiting judge on the Supreme Court of Ohio and in four sister appellate districts by assignment of the Chief Justice. As the court’s Administrative Judge, I managed the “business” side of the court, including its budget, IT, and HR issues.

I have authored over 1,000 opinions and heard more than 2,000 cases. I am honored to have had over 100 opinions selected for publication. I have also authored numerous articles for local, state and national legal SEE COMPLETE RESPONSE AT WWW.JUDICIALVOTESCOUNT.ORG

I bring my 37 years in private practice I bring to the court my extensive courtroom experience as a civil and criminal trial and appellate litigator practicing in the trenches of our justice system helping ordinary people with their extraordinary problems. I represented working families, children at risk, and small business owners in courts across the state from small claims court to the Supreme Court of Ohio. My career as a practicing attorney included service as lead counsel in more than 50 major appellate cases, including cases before the Ohio Supreme Court, and 40 major civil and criminal jury trials. I was certified as co-counsel in death penalty cases. I have also served as counsel SEE COMPLETE RESPONSE AT WWW.JUDICIALVOTESCOUNT.ORG

With an impending retirement, I was asked by community leaders to come home to Geauga County to serve as a trial judge rather than serve another term as an appellate court judge in Geauga and four other counties in the district. These leaders want a judge with extensive experience as both a judge and a litigator who has civil and criminal jury trial experience. They want a judge with a proven track record of legal scholarship, fairness and impartiality, and administrative efficiency. I look forward to returning to my roots in the law-the trial courtroom. My career has given me invaluable years of experience as a judge scrutinizing decisions of trial courts, coupled with a rich tapestry SEE COMPLETE RESPONSE AT WWW.JUDICIALVOTESCOUNT.ORG