Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel is currently accepting applications to fill a vacant seat on the Lucas County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division.
Applicants for the Juvenile Court position must be a resident and registered elector of Lucas 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 Lucas 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, http://www.governor.ohio.gov/.
Requirements for all applicants include submitting a letter of interest, resume, panel questionnaire at http://governor2.ohio.gov/Portals/0/OJARP/Judicial%20Questionnaire.pdf 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 Lucas County appointment must be received by 5 p.m. April 16.
Candidates must be available to interview in person on May 10 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 Lucas County vacancy:
Judge Robert Franklin, retired, Lucas County Common Pleas Court
John Irish, Lucas County Democratic Party Chairman
Tina Wozniak, Lucas County Commissioner
Don Mewhort, owner of First American Title Agency
Ron Rothenbuhler, executive regional director, Council of Carpenters
Yvonne Harper, bailiff, Toledo Municipal Court