Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel is currently accepting applications to fill a vacant seat on the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, due to the passing of Judge G. Jack Davis.
Applicants for the Court of Common Pleas position must be a resident and registered elector of Montgomery 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 Montgomery County appointment will extend until January 2, 2009. To continue service in the position, the appointee must run in the November 2008 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.
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 Montgomery County appointment must be received by 5 p.m. April 12.
Candidates must be available to interview in person on June 14 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 Montgomery County vacancy:
Tom Hagel, law professor, University of Dayton School of Law
Guy Jones, retired, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office
Joey Williams, president, Chase of Western Ohio
Tom Ritchey, regional director, AFSCME Ohio Council 8
Gary Leppla, attorney, Leppla and Associates
Mark Owens, Clerk of Courts, Dayton Municipal Court