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(requires Acrobat Reader)
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Lorain County Prosecutor
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Term: 4 years
Salary: $104,930
Job Description: To serve as chief legal officer of the County and as a member of the County Budget Commission. To investigate and prosecute crimes committed in the county. To advise county officers and boards, township officers, and county school district officers and boards.
Question 1: What guidelines would you use to determine whether a defendant younger than age 18 should be tried as a juvenile or as an adult?
Question 2: What are the choices you see available to you for handling the cases of defendants accused of a felony, especially for first time offenders?
VOTE FOR ONE
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Gary Bennett
337 Denison Ave.
Elyria, OH 44035
Web Site
Party: Republican
Age: 52
Education: Elyria High School 1970. Wittenberg University BA 1974. Notre Dame Law School JD 1977.
Occupation: Attorney at Law. Currently serving as Lorain County Prosecutor, appointed March, 2004.
Training and Experience: Private Law Practice (27 years). Acting Judge Elyria Municipal Court 1999-2004. Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor. Elyria Board of Education 1986- 2004. Solicitor and Prosecutor Village of LaGrange (22 years). Lorain County Children Services Board 1980-1991. Lorain County Mental Retardation and Development Disabilities Board. Lorain County Joint Vocation School Board. |
Response to Question 1: The decision to bind over a child to adult court or to seek serious youthful offender status is made by the Juvenile Court and is governed by certain statutory considerations. (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2152) These Same factors should guide the Prosecutor’s decision to seek adult or blended treatment of a juvenile offender. Broadly summarized, the statutory considerations involve weighing the severity of the crime in relation to the age and maturity of the offender. More serious crimes committed by older children, with significant criminal histories, often merit adult treatment. In addition, consideration is given to the child’s history in the juvenile justice system and whether traditional juvenile sanctions have been attempted. Other relevant factors include circumstances related to the crime itself, such as use of a gun, gang involvement, the nature and extent of the relationship between the offender and the extent of harm suffered by the victim.
Response to Question 2:
In deciding what sentence to advocate, the Prosecutor must consider the severity of the crime, the harm suffered by the victim and the safety of the community as a whole. There are a number of sentencing options available to the Court after a felony conviction including prison, community based control (formerly, “probation”), fines, and restitution. My predecessor, Jeff Manning, instituted, and I have continued, a first offender diversion program for non-violent offenders. The victim, the police and the Prosecutor must approve participation in the program. In this program, the defendant enters a plea of guilty, and if restitution is made within one year, the case is dismissed. A similar program is available to drug offenders with no prior convictions. After a plea of guilty and a period of monitoring by the probation department, if there is no further drug involvement, the case can be dismissed.
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Dennis P. Will
5213 Parkhurst Drive
Sheffield, OH 44054
Party: Democrat
Age: 51
Education:Cleveland Marshall College of Law, Juris Doctorate, 1986. Heidelberg College, Bachelor of Science, 1981. Lorain County Community College, Associate of Arts, 1978. Elyria Catholic High School, Class of 1970
Occupation:Attorney/ Prosecutor for Village of Sheffield
Training and Experience: Assistant Lorain County Prosecutor- 11 years. Elyria Police Officer, earned rank of Captain- 25 years. Licensed Practicing Attorney/ 17 years experience. United States Marine, Vietnam Era – 4 years.
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Response to Question 1: Certain bindovers of juvenile defendants for trial as an adult are mandatory as required by the Ohio Revised Code. Mandatory bindovers of a juvenile defendant is determined by age, category of offense committed, whether a firearm was used in committing the offense, and the defendant’s prior history with the court. In mandatory cases it would be my duty as county prosecutor to follow the Ohio Revised Code. In all other cases the treatment of juvenile offenders as an adult falls into the discretionary consideration. The court must determine the defendant’s amenability to juvenile rehabilitation. The factors, which need to be considered, are as follows:
- Family history, is there a support system for rehabilitation
- Defendant’s history with court and prior record
- Results of an impartial psychological evaluation
- Defendant’s school behavior, attitude towards authority, past discipline problems
- Balance rights of victim and need to protect community with above factors.
Response to Question 2: All offenders need to be held accountable and victims need to be made whole and treated with respect. Defendants charged with a felony need to be separated by the type of offenses committed. In the case of violent, high level offenders, incarceration may be mandated or presumed by the Ohio Revised Code. In the case of non-violent, low level offenders, the opportunity to complete a screening and diversion program or community control sanctions, short of incarceration may be appropriate. The appropriateness and range of community control sanctions must be weighed against holding the offender responsible and protecting the community. The level of community sanctions can be increased or reduced dependant upon the offenders behavior and success in attaining rehabilitation.
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