MONTGOMERY COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT CASELOADS
Court - Judges - Population served - Pop. per judge - ‘12 cases per judge
Dayton - 5 - 141,527 - 28,305 - 8,556
Kettering - 2 - 119,077 - 59,539 - 9,186
Miamisburg - 1 - 72,307 - 72,307 - 13,124
East/West divisions* - 4 - 114,927 - 28,732 - 4,930
Oakwood* - 1 - 9,202 - 9,202 - 1,956
Vandalia - 1 - 78,580 - 78,580 - 19,718
OTHER AREA MUNICIPAL COURT CASELOADS
Court - Judges - Population served - Pop. per judge - ‘12 cases per judge
Fairborn - 1 - 91,548 - 91,548 - 16,948
Xenia - 1 - 69,558 - 69,558 - 13,731
* - Part-time judges (two of four in Montgomery County are part-time)
Source: Supreme Court of Ohio
Oakwood judge candidates
With around 7,000 eligible voters and eight candidates, the new Oakwood Municipal Judge could, in theory, be elected with far fewer than 1,000 votes, especially if only half the electorate participates like in 2009.
In a recent candidates’ forum, more than one potential judge said the race “isn’t a popularity contest,” but voters must decide among a group that admits the other options also are qualified. The candidates, in alphabetical order:
Ward Barrentine
Job: Assistant prosecuting attorney for Montgomery County
Experience/platform: Barrentine said he prosecuted two Oakwood serial burglars who broke into a combined 60 homes: "I am well versed in the traffic offenses that make up a significant amount of the municipal court caseload." Barrentine wants to utilize the existing video equipment so arraignments can take place without defendants being driven back and forth from jail and modernize other court operations: "Oakwood needs to place its court records online so that all citizens can check the status of actions pending before the court."
Chris Conard
Job: Defense attorney at Coolidge Wall law firm
Experience/platform: The former Montgomery County assistant public defender said, "I am the only candidate to manage a public office and advise municipalities on legal matters involving a variety of issues including: zoning, legislation, labor and personnel matters and the operation of a Mayor's Court." Conard said he's worked with county and municipal leaders on finding cost-effective solutions to deliver legal services to the community. " Conard wants to find alternatives to prison for non-violent offenders:
Chris Epley
Job: Assistant prosecuting attorney in Vandalia Municipal Court
Experience/platform: Epley is the vice president of Oakwood City Schools, a position he would resign if he won, and is a visiting magistrate in Dayton Municipal Court. Epley is for a more open court system:"Many times it is a matter of educating the public and remaining transparent. Some courts have recognized the importance of transparency and include various court information on websites to keep the public informed." Epley won the endorsement of the Miami Valley Trial Lawyers, though not every candidate sought the endorsement.
Sara Hein
Job: Assistant prosecuting attorney in Montgomery County
Experience/platform: Hein said she would not practice law in any other capacity if she was elected Oakwood's judge. "I do not believe the judge should be on the bench with regular potential conflicts of interest from private clientele, from private practice, or from partnerships in a firm." Hein also believes Oakwood's court could be more modern: "Our court can continue to grow in its capacity to serve the community by continually being apprised of and implementing new programs, services, and technologies that are currently being utilized by other courts."
Michael Hochwalt
Job: Partner at Hochwalt & Schiff law firm
Experience/platform: Hochwalt has counseled troubled teenagers in Cincinnati and spent time as Oakwood's wrestling coach. "With my dual expertise in counseling and law, with additional expertise in mediation and settlement techniques, I am better able to make use of these disciplines to curb repetitive crime by offenders for the benefit of the community," Hochwalt said. He also worked as an assistant county prosecutor and a magistrate/referee in Montgomery County Domestic Relations Court. "As long as cases are handled fairly and expeditiously, there is no improvement necessary."
Brian Huelsman
Job: Public defender for Montgomery County
Experience/platform: Huelsman also has been a prosecuting attorney: "I have argued both sides of the fence and gained a unique perspective regarding judicial deliberation." Huelsman said he's in favor of outreach and educational programs for youth to learn about court and that he believes he can make Oakwood's court self-sufficient and that sending court services elsewhere is a bad idea: "This has been a hot potato, so to speak, as far as the court going somewhere else, going to Kettering. People think that (the city) will save money, but being on the budget review committee, I've seen the numbers."
Richard Lipowicz
Job: Partner at Douple, Beyoglides, Hansen, Claypool, Kovich, Lipowicz & LaMusga law firm
Experience/platform: A former Montgomery County prosecutor, Lipowicz said he also practiced municipal law for Oakwood while at another firm. Lipowicz said his small business experience is a plus. "I will immediately take action to make the court economically self-sufficient," he said. "I will increase the court costs charged to criminal and traffic offenders to the level of other municipal courts in Montgomery County. I will also assess transportation and incarceration fees on offenders where appropriate."
Margaret Quinn
Job: Magistrate at Miamisburg Municipal Court
Experience/platform: Quinn has represented the Air Force Logistics Command in contract litigation and retired as a federal prosecutor with the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of Ohio and does pro bono defense work. "I am the only candidate to have experience in all three facets of courtroom and trial work; that is, as a prosecutor, as a defender, and now, as a Magistrate," she said, adding that she hears cases identical to those an Oakwood judge would hear. "The court system here is, in my experience, very user friendly," she said. "As long as we can, we want to preserve that."
For more information about these candidates check out our Voters Guide at vote.daytondailynews.com
UNMATCHED COVERAGE: The Dayton Daily News is committed to providing in-depth coverage of candidates and issues for the Nov. 5 election.
Oakwood Municipal Court serves the smallest municipal court population and second-smallest caseload in Ohio, plus city residents subsidize the court by $80,000 annually.
City officials said the price of contracting or consolidating the court with Kettering’s or Dayton’s municipal courts may cost more for less control, though the city could not provide any official documents related to the cost differential because non exist.
The eight people running to replace retiring Judge Robert Deddens for the part-time, $67,150 position say Oakwood should retain its judgeship and that increasing fees, fines and court costs will cut into the operating deficit by as much as half.
“It would take an act of the state legislature to close our court and confer that jurisdiction on another court,” Oakwood Law Director Rob Jacques said. “They’re not going to do that unless they know that there’s going to be a cost savings agreement in place between those communities.”
The 2012 expenses for Oakwood’s court were $216,848 while the revenue was $136,304, leaving an $80,000 hole filled by taxpayers. The revenues are from several sources including criminal, traffic and parking fines plus court costs and filing fees. The court’s $216,848 cost represents less than 2 percent of the city’s $12.94 million budget.
Even so, consolidation doesn’t make sense for Oakwood officials “We just could not envision a funding model that would be beneficial to us,” Jacques said. Oakwood’s court serves just 9,202 citizens and has a case load about one-tenth of another Montgomery County municipal court.
Greg Lawson, a policy analyst for the Buckeye Institute for Public Policy Solutions, a Columbus-based conservative think tank, said his group is usually for consolidation if it makes sense for taxpayers.
“Those kind of numbers certainly make it seem a bit questionable as to why it’s continue to remain in existence,” Lawson said. “I can see the political reason why it would stay in existence, but that’s not necessarily the same thing as good policy.”
And while he said he doesn’t know all the specifics of Oakwood’s situation, Lawson said Oakwood residents should be given specific information about the options.
“If there are good reasons why they shouldn’t (look at merging) because they say they’ve investigated, there ought to be a public document,” Lawson said. “They should put it on paper and quantify it and let people see it… . If they can validate it, fine.”
Court consolidations are not unprecedented. Just this year, the Fostoria and Tiffin Municipal Courts were merged into one. The Tiffin judge has been serving as a visiting judge in Fostoria since Fostoria’s judge died in April 2012. A new judge will be selected in November to preside over the new court.
The Ohio Supreme Court testified in favor of the merger, citing that both cities could benefit because Tiffin would get to keep fines and fees in its city while Fostoria will see savings related to staffing and court operating costs.
In March, one of the three judge positions in Youngstown Municipal Court was abolished. Legislation also was enacted to convert the four Montgomery County Municipal Court judge positions (two of which are part-time) into three full-time jobs.
In Mahoning County, Struthers and Campbell — which has 9,627 citizens and is second-smallest in Ohio after Oakwood — saw both its city councils vote against a proposed consolidation that was recommended by a study by the National Center for State Courts. The study was funded in part by Ohio’s Supreme Court, which has not commissioned any study about Oakwood.
Jacques and Deddens say that there are inherent advantages of Oakwood having its police officers being able to swing by the city offices and testify during their shifts instead of being paid overtime and that transporting defendants to Kettering for court would take Oakwood safety officers out of Oakwood. Safety director Alex Bebris declined to comment, referring questions to city leaders.
Deddens, whose law office is across the street from the court, served four terms and was forced to retire due to age restrictions. Deddens defeated Lawrence Rab in 1989 and ran unopposed in 1995, 2001 and 2007.
“You get to help people,” Deddens said of why it’s a good job. “I believe there’s only 16 judgeships in Ohio that are municipal judgeships that are part-time. As an eminent judge once told me, this kind of a job allows you to have the best of both worlds. You can have a law office and also be a judge.”
Oakwood Municipal Court started Jan. 1, 1934 after Ohio Rep. George E. Niswonger (D-Montgomery County) saw his legislation passed in 1933. House Bill 134 breezed through the legislature and was signed by then-Gov. George White.
By statute, Oakwood judge job is parttime and pays $67,150 — 60 percent paid for by Oakwood and 40 percent by the county — for a schedule that includes includes a Thursday docket and rare Friday trials. Since the new Oakwood judge will be one of just 15 part-time municipal court judges in Ohio, they are allowed to do some other legal work.
In 2012, Oakwood had Ohio’s second-lowest municipal case load per judge — one-fifth of the state average and one-tenth the workload of Vandalia Municipal Court. Oakwood’s court had just 1,956 new filings, transfers and re-activations in 2012. Vandalia had 19,718.
Most of Oakwood’s crime is traffic-related and quickly dispatched. In 2o12, Oakwood increased its traffic citations to 2,837 from 2,388 in 2011. Of the 168 crimes Oakwood’s annual report termed as “major,” there were no murders, three rapes, one robbery, seven assaults and 10 burglaries. The vast majority (118) were larceny cases.
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