Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel is currently accepting applications to fill a vacant seat on the Hamilton County Municipal Court.
Applicants for the Municipal Court position must be a resident and registered elector of Hamilton County and not yet 70 years old on the day they begin their duties, as dictated by Ohio law. In addition, they must be admitted to practice law in Ohio and have maintained their legal license for six years prior to assuming the judicial post or served as a judge of a court of record in any jurisdiction in the United States.
The term of the Hamilton County appointment will extend until January 1, 2008. To continue service in the position, the appointee must run in the November 2007 judicial election.
In the case of all judicial vacancies, applicants must follow the guidelines set forth by Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel to ensure their eligibility for appointment.
Applications must be submitted directly to the judicial panel and will then be distributed to the at-large and regional panel members. Details and the full text of the application procedure are available on the judicial panel’s section of the governor’s Web site, http://www.governor.ohio.gov/.
Requirements for all applicants include submitting a letter of interest, resume, panel questionnaire available here and no more than six letters of recommendation.
All materials submitted by applicants for a judicial vacancy will be considered public record under Ohio law. Applicant communication with panel members must be directed to the entire panel; all attempts to contact or influence a panel member are prohibited. Applicant questions and concerns should be addressed to Kent Markus or Jeff Ruppert in the Governor’s Office at (614) 466-3555.
Applications for the Hamilton County appointment must be received by 5 p.m. March 15. Candidates must be available to interview in person on April 5 in Columbus. Individual candidate times and interview locations will be determined at a later date.
Governor Strickland has selected the following individuals to serve on the regional committee for the current Hamilton County vacancy:
Judge Nathaniel Jones, retired judge U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth District
Robert Richardson, president of the AFL-CIO Labor Council and Laborer’s Local 265
Herbert Brown, senior vice president for Western Southern
Tawanda Edwards, attorney for Katz, Greenberger and Norton, LLP, and president of the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati
Marjorie Corman Aaron, professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and executive director of UC’s Center for Practice in Negotiation and Problem Solving
Timothy Burke, attorney for Manley Burke legal association in Cincinnati
In the case of the Franklin County vacancy announced February 2, Stephen Hightower has been appointed to replace Bill Anthony, who resigned from the panel due to scheduling conflicts.