2003 Crt. Annual Report - Akron, Ohio Annual Report.pdf · Program (DRP), and a License Intervention Program(LIP). The Municipal Court has been able ... Oriana House, Inc., the Akron

2003 Annual Report2003 Annual Report

THE AKRON

MUNICIPALCOURTHarold K. Stubbs Justice Center

217 South High StreetAkron, Ohio 44308

(7th, 8th and 9th Floors)

2

which made it easier to searchcourt records, locate special programs and check for outstanding checks. By the closeof the year over 300,000 visitorshad viewed the court’s website.

2003 was a year of change atthe Municipal Court. JudgeMarvin Shapiro resigned fromhis seat on the bench in May totake on his new role of SummitCounty Court of Common PleasJudge. Judge Brian Stormer wasappointed by Governor Taft tofill this seat until the generalelection. Judge Annalisa S.Williams took the bench inDecember of the year, havingdefeated Judge Stormer in thegeneral election.

Magistrate Thomas Lynettretired from the court after thirteen years of service. His

depth of knowledge will not be lost however, as Tom will continue to serve the court as a relief magistrate.

Akron Municipal Court continuesto be a national leader in providing cost effective, qualityalternatives to incarceration andlitigation. In addition to the Drug Court, Family ViolenceCourt, and the Mental HealthCourt, the court also runs aMediation Program, aDiscretionary RehabilitationProgram (DRP), and a LicenseIntervention Program(LIP). TheMunicipal Court has been able to provide this wide variety of dispositional alternatives whiledecreasing staffing levels by one employee and not raising programmatic costs.

Judge John E. Holcomb

Judge John E. HolcombPresiding /Administrative Judge for 2003

A WORD FROMADMINISTRATIVE/PRESIDING

JUDGE JOHN E. HOLCOMB

T he Akron MunicipalCourt serves the people of Akron,

Fairlawn, Bath, Richfield,Springfield, Lakemore, and the Summit County portion ofMogadore. A total of 59,238new cases were filed in 2003,an increase of over 2000 casesfrom the previous year. Thetotal number of criminal casesfiled was 15,406. The totalnumber of civil cases filed was12,122, plus 1,450 smallclaims cases. 30,260 new traf-fic cases were filed with thecourt.

The court disposed of 58,147cases in 2003.

The court web site which wasunveiled in 2001 underwentsome user requested changes

3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

5A Year ofChange

DrugCourt7

Mental HealthCourt

9

TheJudges4

Clerk ofCourts16

F.D/Evictions3,789 C

Small Claims1,453

Damages584

Replevins262

Fast Facts14

Website13

SmallClaims

12Probation10

Family ViolenceCourt8

History of Court6

4

JUDGE JOHN E. HOLCOMBis a graduate of Baldwin-Wallace College and theUniversity of Akron School of Law. In the past, Judge Holcomb served asDirector of Law for the City of Akron and alsoserved as a member of the

Ohio State Board of Education as well as theAkron Board of Education.

JUDGE CARLA D. MOORE an Akron native, earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Akron andher law degree from the Ohio State UniversityCollege of Law. She hasserved as Municipal CourtJudge since her appoint-ment in June of 1989.

JUDGE MARVIN A.SHAPIRO lifetime Akron resident, earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from theUniversity of Akron in 1960 and his Juris Doctorate degree at the University of Akron in 1965. He has served

the Akron Municipal Court since January of 1991.

JUDGE ELINORE MARSH STORMER graduated from Davidson College with an undergraduate degree in history. She earned her Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron graduating in the top of her class. She was elected to the bench in

1991, re-elected in 1993 and 1999.

JUDGE LYNNE S. CALLAHAN is a graduate of University of Akron and the University of Akron School of Law. She has served as an Akronpolice officer, an AssistantDirector of Law and anAssistant Summit CountyProsecutor. She was

appointed Judge in May 1997, and elected to the bench in November 1997.

JUDGE ALISONMcCARTYgraduated from WheatonCollege and Wake ForestUniversity School of Law. She served as an AssistantSummit County prosecutorhandling felony criminal cases. She was appointedJudge in May, 1999, and

elected to the bench in November, 1999.

The Court’s six judges are attorneys and are required by Ohio law to have practiced lawat least six years prior to becoming a judge. The judges are elected on a nonpartisan basis and serve six-year terms. Their role is to supervise the administration of justice intheir respective courts and insure that all trials, court hearings, and administrative procedures are fair and just.

THE JUDGES

5

Judge Marvin A. Shapiro resigned his from his seat on the municipal bench inMay of 2003 to take on his new role as judge at the common pleas level. JudgeBrian Stormer was appointed by Govenor Taft to fill the seat until the generalelection. Annalisa S. Williams won the election and took her seat on the bench inDecember of 2003.

A YEAR OF CHANGE

Judge Williams is joined by friends and family at her formal swearing in ceremony.

6

HISTORY OF COURTIn 1910 the legislature establisheda police court in Akron vestedwith jurisdiction over offensesunder the ordinances of the cityand all misdemeanors committedwithin the limits of SummitCounty. It was made a court ofrecord and was presided over byan attorney duly admitted to prac-tice in this state.

In 1919 the legislature establishedthe Akron Municipal Court withthree sitting judges elected forfour-year terms. In 1930 two

judgeships were added to thecourt. In 1939 the legislaturereduced the number of judgesfrom five to four. A fifth judge was again made a member of the court in 1967 and the sixthjudgeship was created in 1975.The judges now serve six-yearterms.

The court now serves a jurisdictionwhich includes the cities of Akronand Fairlawn; the townships ofBath, Richfield, and Springfield;the villages of Lakemore and

Richfield; and that part ofMogadore in Summit County.

In 1966 the court moved into the City-County Safety Buildingwhich was renamed the Harold K.Stubbs Justice Center in 1991located in downtown Akron. The sitting judges are Judge John E. Holcomb the Presiding/Administrative Judge for 2003,Lynne S. Callahan, Elinore MarshStormer, Alison McCarty, Carla D.Moore, and Marvin A. Shapiro.

Pardee, L.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1920 - 1923Marsh, F.G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1920 - 1923O’Neil, A.F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1920 - 1925Zesiger, E.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1924 - 1927Underwood, A.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1924 - 1925Davies, G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1926 - 1931Hoyt, C.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1926 - 1931Cox, J.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1928 - 1931Emmons, C.V.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1931 - 1942Roderick, O.M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1931 - 1961Colopy, S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1932 - 1937Werner, H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1932 - 1935Harvey, F.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1932 - 1935Isham, D.P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1935 - 1943Watters, R.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1936 - 1937Davies, G. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1938 - 1939Kelly, C.M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1938 - 1950Powers, T.M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1939 - 1971Sacks, C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1943 - 1949Zook, A.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1944 - 1959McRae, C.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1951 - 1963Victor, W.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1950 - 1959Price, T.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1960 - 1969Koplin, N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1960 - 1963Riddle, J.P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1962 - 1969McCarty, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 - presentReed, E.J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1964 - 1967

VanBerg, H.N. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1964 - 1975Roulhac, J.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1968 - 1987Hartnett, R.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 - 1981McFadden, D.B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1970 - 1978Colopy, R.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1972 - 1995Winter, J.P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 - 1983George, J.J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1976 - 1983Spicer, W.F. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1979 - 1981Murphy, J.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1980 - 1982Schneiderman, T. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1981 - 1991Mack, M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 - 1997Williams, J.R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 - 1989Maxson, R. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1983 - 1993Stubbs, H.K. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1987 - 1989Bond, J. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 - 1991Moore, C.D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1989 - presentBayer, E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 - 1991Shapiro, M.A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 - 2003Stormer, E.M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1991 - presentCallahan, M. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1993 - 1995Carr, D. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1995 - 1998Holcomb, J.E. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1996 - presentCallahan, L.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1997 - presentUnruh, B. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 - 1999McCarty, A. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1998 - presentStormer, B., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 - 2003Williams, A. S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2003 - present

7

Judge Alison McCarty is theAkron Municipal Drug CourtJudge, having taken over fromJudge Marvin Shapiro in Marchof 2003. The Akron MunicipalDrug Court began in 1995 andis the longest running specialtycourt in Akron. Akron’s DrugCourt continues to serve as amodel program for many DrugCourts across the state. It is acollaborative effort between theAkron Municipal Court, AkronPolice Department, Akron CityProsecutor’s Office, PublicDefender’s Office, AkronMunicipal ProbationDepartment, Summit CountyAlcohol, Drug Abuse andMental Health Board, andOriana House, Inc.

The Drug Court philosophypromotes court-ordered, judicially supervised treatment.The participants are male andfemale offenders originally

charged with felonies, either possession of cocaine ormethamphetamine.

All prospective offenders are initially screened by the OrianaHouse admissions Department todetermine eligibility. Police andprosecutors must also approvethe offender for admission intothe Drug Court program.

The program requires that theoffender must come to courtand plead guilty to a reduced,misdemeanor charge ofAttempted Drug Abuse. A six-month jail sentence is then imposed, but suspended.During the course of the nextyear, the participant will undergoassessment and treatment. Thelevel of treatment is determinedby the seriousness of the offender’s addiction. At a minimum, each offender willmeet with a caseworker at leastonce a week, and must attend

DRUG COURT

Judge McCarty speaks with Drug Court clientfrom the bench.

The Drug Court team with Judge McCarty.

AA meetings and undergo frequent drug testing.

The program is based on areward/sanction model: if aparticipant stays sober and per-forms well in the program, heor she will receive rewards. Ifthe offender relapses with newdrug use, or fails to complywith other aspects of the pro-gram, he or she will face gradu-ated sanctions, starting withcourtroom observation or a fewdays in jail, leading up to thefinal sanction for noncompli-ance: termination from the pro-gram and six months in theSummit County Jail.

The Drug Court is a successfulmethod of treatment foroffenders, and a major compo-nent of its success is the closesupervision and involvement ofthe judge.

8

FAMILY VIOLENCE COURT

The Family Violence Court wasimplemented in April of 1998, in response to the growingnumber of domestic violencecases, the need to provide asanctioning option to reduce jailcrowding, the desire to addressboth victim and offender needs,and the desire to enhance probation supervision and toprotect the public safety.

Akron’s Family Violence Court is a domestic violence diversion program, the only one of itskind in Ohio, and one of veryfew throughout the country.The actual program is the combined brain-child of theOriana House, Inc., the AkronMunicipal Court and its probation

department, Akron’s prosecutor’soffice and police department,the Summit County Prosecutor’sOffice, Victim Assistance, theBattered Women’s Shelter, and

the Public Defender’s Office. The program provides increased

supervision of the offenderas well asincreasedcoordinationof services.Judge LynneS. Callahanpresides overthe FamilyViolenceCourt.Offenderswho enterthe Family

Violence Court Program arerequired to complete a twenty-six week violence cessation program, as well. ascase management, one year of

Judge Callahan and Jill Forster are presented with flowers at the 5 yearanniversary of this court.

probation, drug and alcoholtesting and counseling, whenneeded, and employment counseling, when needed.Victims are urged to attend theEarly intervention Program andStop the Cycle at the BatteredWomen’s Shelter and haveaccess to a victim advocatethrough every step of the proceedings.

9

MENTAL HEALTH COURT

The Akron Mental Health Courtwas the first of its kind in Ohioand remains one of a handful inthe United States. The MentalHealth Court was formed, inpart, as a response to the over-whelming numbers of mentallyill offenders being seen by theAkron Municipal Court.

This program is a collaborativeeffort between the SummitCounty ADM Board,Community Support Services,and the Akron Municipal Court.Residential treatment is provid-ed by Oriana House, Inc., SharpProgram.The program is envi-sioned as a diversion programwith a significant jail reductioncomponent in the short andlong term. The model followsthe drug court model with earlyintervention and stable releaseinto the community with multi-year intensive probation and

frequent court appearances.Prior to the Mental HealthCourt, mentally ill offenders whowere not stable on medications,were waiting in jail for up to sixweeks before a competencyevaluation was completed. Thisdiversion court reduces the timespent in jail to less than twoweeks. One of the goals of theMental Health Court is to end the cycling of the mentally illoffenderthrough thelocal jail andthe state hospital.

Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer with Chief orProbation Ingram and MHC staff.

Judge Stormer talkswith MHC client.

One of the

goals of

the Mental

Health Court

is to end the

cycling of the

mentally ill

offender

through the

local jail and

the state

hospital.

10

THE AKRON MUNICIPAL COURTPROBATION STAFF

Tony Ingram was appointed Chief ofProbation in February of 2003.

5542 offenders were referred by the judges and the traffic magistrate for various correctionalservices and specialized court services.

218 Presentence Investigations referrals werereceived.

526 Summary Presentence Investigation referralswere received.

385 persons were placed on traditional probation.

$41,387 was collected and disbursed by the RestitutionCoordinator.

2790 community service placements were made.

125 defendants entered the Family Violence Court,with a retention rate of 86%.

98 defendants entered the Drug Court with aretention rate of 83%.

703 defendants were screened for the DiscretionaryRehabilitation Program…

593 were found to be eligible and approved, witha retention rate of 70%.

Below are listed some important departmental statistics for 2003:

Stacie Rouse, Lori Florin, Linda Mack, Dan Sojourner, Judy McKinney, AlissaStreeter, Jessie Tucker, Jeff Sturmi, Tony Ingram and Jill Forster.

11

Chief Bailiff Helen Hurlburt and Cheryl Price.

THE AKRON MUNICIPAL COURT SERVICEBAILIFF’S STAFF

The Service Bailiffs’ Office iscomprised of 6 Service Bailiffs, 2 Court Secretary/Court RecordsOfficers, an Office Manager, andthe Chief Bailiff. This office ischarged with the responsibilityto perform Evictions, Levies,Replevins, conduct Bailiff Sales,

remove clubs, and provide personal service of all court documents generated by TheAkron Municipal Court that

require individual service. Unlike the courtroom bailiffswho perform their duties in thecourtroom, the Service Bailiffsgo out into the community todo their job.

The Outside Bailiffs travelthroughout Summit County,into virtually every segment ofsociety to serve Bank Aids,F&D’s, Garnishments,Mandatory Orders, ShowCauses, Small Claims,Subpoenas, and Summons.They also perform Evictions,Levies, Replevins, conduct Bailiff Sales, and remove clubsfrom vehicles immobilized byAkron, Richfield, Bath, Fairlawn,Lakemore, Springfield andCuyahoga Falls PoliceDepartments.

Kelly Warner, Dave Soder, Vivian Tomko, Dawn Steed, Jonathan Groya,Dennis Parks, Kim Hubbard, Cheryl Price, Pat Boyle, Todd Spicer, and kneeling Chief Baififf Helen Hurlburt.

12

SMALL CLAIMS DIVISION

TRAFFIC DIVISION

Small claims magistrateshandle many differenttypes of cases. They hear evictions, smallclaims, rent deposits, garnishments/executions,mandatory orders, contempt/show cause,replevin and revivor hearings. The office isstaff by two part-timemagistrates and supportstaff. The magistrates are Sophie Albrecht andBelinda Hinton. The support staff are MelissaBriggs and Carrie Christ.

In 2003 the trafficcourt staff handled9,034 cases. 217 ofthose cases were forDUI offenses, 2,795were for DUS offenses,4,383 MM, and 1,637M1-M4 cases. Picturedleft are Mick Williams,Traffic Safety Officer,Kathy Wheeler, JimConti and seated isKathy Culver TrafficMagistrate.

13

AKRON MUNICIPAL COURT WEBSITE

ARRAIGNMENT COURT

The Akron

Municipal

Court

website

offers

another

means of

providing

additional

information

for the

people

it serves.

Visit our web site at: http://courts.ci.akron.oh.us/

Arraignments of misdemeanorand felony prisoners are heardin the morning s in thearraignment room. This court-room is usually one of thebusiest courtrooms on anygiven day. Video equipmentallows the Judge to see andhear the defendant while thedefendant remains in thecounty jail.

By the end of 2003 over 300,000 visitors had accessed the courtwebsite. In response to user feedback the site was rearranged toprovide easier access to the special programs, records search andoutstanding check icons.

14

FAST FACTS

DUS2,795

MM4,383

DUI217

M1-M41,637

F.D/Evictions3,789 Contracts

7,484

Small Claims1,453

Damages584

Replevins262

59,2

38

58,1

47

30,2

60

Total Traffic Criminal Civil

29,9

23

15,4

06

14,7

56

13,6

02

13,5

00

Total Cases Filed / Disposed

Traffic Court Cases 2003

Top Five Civil Case Filings 2003

GlimpsesGlimpses

15

This annual reportwas created by the CourtAdministrator’sOffice, with theassistance of ourfriends at the City of AkronGraphicsDepartment.Photos by BruceFord, PeterSpearing and Ken Kuckuck.

Cynthia Caprez, Executive Assistant, Lee Mattes, Summit CountyProsecutor’s Office and Court Administrator Ken Kuckuck.

Visit our website at: http: //courts.ci.akron.oh.us

Judicial Associate Laura Killian (center), headsthe mediation program.

MEDIATION PROGRAM

The Court is fortunate to have several retiredjudges available to seat when a conflict arises,

the municipal judges attending a training seminar or conference,or when they just need a vacationday. Currently, Judge WilliamPike, Judge Perry Dickinson, Judge Monte Mack, Judge Ted Schneiderman, and JudgeJoyce George serve the court asvisiting judges.

VISITING JUDGES

JIM LARIA, has been Clerk of Courts since January 1, 1997. Laria is a graduate ofThe University of Akron with a Bachelor ofScience in Education and the NationalJudicial College with certification in CourtAdministration. Jim was an elected mem-ber of the Akron School Board and hasworked in our court systems for more than 24-years, serving as the Chief DeputyClerk of the Akron Municipal Courts andCourt Administrator for the Summit County

Probate Court. Jim Laria was elected by his peers as thePresident of the Northeastern Ohio Municipal Court Clerk’s Association.