None of the three men running for the seat formerly held by Judge Lynn Schaefer have been a judge, but Bill Connelly, Mark Davis and Ian English all have law degrees and have practiced law. Connelly and English are both prosecutors, Connelly in Wood County Common Pleas Court, English in Lucas County Common Pleas Court. Davis received his law degree from the Ohio State College of Law; English and Connelly received their law degrees from the University of Toledo College of Law.

Connelly is the endorsed candidate of the Lucas County Republican Party, and English is the endorsed candidate of the Lucas County Democratic Party. Both men cited their experiences as a prosecutor as to why they were seeking election to the Toledo Municipal Court.

Connelly

During a phone interview, Connelly said, “There are nine out of 10 people I end up prosecuting that have an extensive misdemeanor history; there  are over 100,000 criminal and traffic filings in Toledo alone, seems to me that if you can catch people early and get them to address whatever problems they may have, you will have better success at preventing them from going on to commit more violent crimes. The Toledo Municipal Court judge has the ability to impact people’s lives early on so that they hopefully don’t commit more crimes of a misdemeanor or a felony nature.”

Connelly also referenced the economic realities that the court faces; there are 241 jail beds available, with limited incarceration resources.

“It’s easy to say you want to be tough on crime; you can not give everyone the maximum, so the difficulty and the reason you need an experienced judge as far as how you allocate resources, jail, probation, drug and mental health services is important,” he said.   He acknowledged the differences between sentencing first time offenders, with jobs,  versus repeat offenders who have  not learned from the probation system.

Davis, who is running as an Independent, stated by phone that running for Toledo Municipal Court judge was a logical next step in his career, his desire to seek the intellectual side of law as  an advocate.

Davis

“I think my background with criminal and civil experience will help me make better decisions, Toledo Municipal Court does not just handle criminal cases, there is a civil caseload.  Both of the other two candidates have mainly criminal court experience. I am the only candidate that is actively practicing in the court. That’s a big deal because Toledo Municipal Court has it’s own rules, practices and procedures; if you are not familiar with it, it’s like a fresh water fish trying to swim in the ocean.  I understand the limitations the court is currently facing, the shortage of prosecutors, how that impacts the court  and that gives me better ideas on how to be a judge.”

On the issue of his law practice experience, Davis said he felt it was important to note he had practiced the law the longest of the three and his two opponents have been in the same court.

English stated in a recent phone interview, “Over the last 8 years I’ve served this county as a prosecutor. I’ve come to realize that the municipal court is a gateway court; before most people commit felonies, they commit a series of misdemeanors. Toledo Municipal Court is important because we have to work harder to reduce recidivism; it will reduce the number of felonies that are committed.”

English

English said judges in our community should be more visible.  “Traditionally judges have been encouraged to separate themselves from the community for fear of creating conflicts.” He said that it is possible to change that, to remove the perceived distance.

He said he believes his “strong record on public safety,” his background of community commitment and his temperament make him an ideal candidate for judge.

Tags: Judges

This entry was posted on Friday, October 23rd, 2009 at 1:00 am and is filed under Community, Courts, Politics.
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