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Judge, Court of Common Pleas
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Term: 6 years
Salary: $110,050
Job Description: To preside at trials of both civil and criminal cases; to supervise the jury commission, grand jury, and other departments of the court.
Question: How do you plan to manage your docket effectively?
VOTE FOR ONE |
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James V. Barilla
297 Greenbriar Drive
Avon Lake, OH 44012
Age: 38
Education: 1984 Avon Lake High School. 1989 University of Akron, Magna Cum Laude, Political Science/Criminal Justice. 1992 Case Western Reserve University, School of Law.
Occupation: April 1997 to Present: Lorain County Domestic Relations/Juvenile Court Magistrate. September 1993 to April 1997: Associate Counsel, Smith and Smith Attorneys, Avon Lake.
Training and Experience: 50+ hours of Drug Court Training. 50+ hours of Judicial College Training. Seven continuous years as Common Pleas Magistrate.
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Response to Question: Managing a docket effectively is not something new for me. For more than seven years I have effectively managed a Common Pleas docket of more than 500 cases per year. As a Magistrate I have done so by eliminating needless delays in Court proceedings, by keeping attorneys and litigants on task and accountable to the Court, and by following the Ohio Supreme Court Guidelines*. In addition, if elected Judge, I would seek State and Federal grant money to begin a Drug Court for non-violent, low-level felony, drug-related offenders. The goal of such a program would be to divert such drug-related offenders from the traditional Court docket and to use a community or team approach to immediately address the drug-related offender’s chemical addiction. Such cases traditionally clog the Court’s docket with numerous pretrial hearings and trials. I have successfully run a similar drug court in the juvenile division for more than four years and have found that when a community has a drug court, everyone wins. The State of Ohio is satisfied because the drug-related offender is made accountable for his criminal behavior and the victim(s) are made whole. The drug-related offender is satisfied because he is given a chance to avoid incarceration and an opportunity to put an addiction-driven criminal history behind him. Society is better off because money is not wasted on housing the drug-related offender, and the drug-related offender is restored to a productive, tax-paying member of society. The Courts are benefited by streamlining drug-related cases and getting them off their dockets quickly and efficiently. Lastly, in an effort to assist in the management of pretrial civil matters, I would convert the Judge’s Staff Attorney to a Magistrate position. Such a maneuver would not cost the Court any additional money but would provide assistance to the Court in addressing case management issues, discovery issues and other related pretrial matters immediately, without the need to involve the Judge. By freeing up the Judge from such time-consuming procedural matters, the Judge’s time can be better utilized actually presiding over trials and resolving cases. Such a system has been in place in the Domestic Relations Division for many years and is very successful in moving civil cases through the system quickly and efficiently. *The Ohio Supreme Court requires the Court to complete cases within certain time limits and to report the status of all pending cases on a monthly basis to the Supreme Court. As a result, the court currently utilizes a computer program that tracks all pending cases and generates a monthly report for each Judge to confirm time-limit compliance. |
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Christopher R. Rothgery
129 Alexander Dr.
Elyria, OH 44035
Web Site
Age: 44
Education: Elyria Catholic High School, 1978. Bowling Green State University, 1983. B.S. Criminal Justice. Cleveland Marshall College of Law, 1988, J.D.
Occupation: Attorney in the private practice of law since 1988.
Training and Experience: Former steel worker. Former counselor, Genesis Battered Women’s Shelter and Junction Runaway Shelter. Acting Judge, Elyria Municipal Court, 1994-2003. Chairman, Elyria Board of Zoning Appeals. Member, Lorain County Bar Association Executive Committee. |
Response to Question: The large docket of cases in the Common Pleas court is the most difficult issue facing the next Judge. There is no “silver bullet” to alleviate this problem. It can only be attended to by the new Judge’s willingness to sit down every day and examine any case that might be handled in a more expeditious manner. I stand ready and willing to accept this challenge. |
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