Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendation Panel is currently accepting applications to fill a vacant seat on the Stark County Court of Common Pleas.
Applicants for the Court of Common Pleas position must be a resident and registered elector of Stark 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 Stark 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 the 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://governor.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 Stark County appointment must be received by 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 17.
Candidates must be available to interview in person on Friday, June 15 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 Stark County vacancy:
Dr. Jack DeSario, Attorney and professor of political science at Mount Union College; former chair of the Ohio Ethics Commission
Phyllis Phillips, Councilwoman for the City of Alliance
Debbie Maier, Vice president for human resources at NFM Welding Enterprises
Lee Plakas, Attorney and partner at Tzangas, Plakas, Mannos and Raies
Charlie Rohr, Business representative and organizer for Ohio and Vicinity Regional Council of Carpenters
Tony Townsend, Principal of Hope Academy; councilman for the City of Massillon
At-Large Members of the Ohio Judicial Appointments Recommendations Panel:
Janet E. Jackson, Chair, President and CEO of United Way of Central Ohio
Meg Flack, Board Member of the League of Women Voters of Metropolitan Columbus
Doloris Learmonth, Managing partner at Peck Shaffer and Williams LLP in Cincinnati
Joy Malek Oldfield, Partner at Hill Hardman Oldfield, LLC, in Akron
Charles “Rocky” Saxbe, Former state representative, currently a senior partner in the Columbus law firm of Chester, Wilcox and Saxbe, LLP