District Court chooses presiding judge

Submitted information

LIMA – Judge John R. Willamowski was chosen to serve again as the Presiding Judge of the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals in 2024 by Judges Mark C. Miller, William R. Zimmerman, and Juergen A. Waldick, who will serve as Administrative Judge.

Judge Willamowski will preside over oral arguments, decide procedural motions, oversee the daily administration of the court, and be responsible for managing the appellate docket.

Judge Willamowski was born in South Bend, Indiana and attended college at the University of Notre Dame where he received his bachelor’s degree in philosophy. He then enrolled in the Claude W. Petit College of Law at Ohio Northern University, graduating in 1985. After he was admitted to the bar, he began practicing law in the Lima area and, with his wife, Mona, eventually started their own firm. He became a State Representative in the Ohio General Assembly in 1997 and was elected to serve a total of four additional terms.

In 2006, Judge Willamowski was elected to the Court of Appeals of Ohio and is the longest currently serving judge at the Third District with seventeen years of experience on the bench. During this time, he has sat by assignment on the Supreme Court of Ohio and served as a visiting judge in the Second, Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Districts. He has filed to be a candidate in the 2024 election for a fourth term on the appellate bench.

Judge Willamowski is an active member of the Allen County Bar Association, the Ohio State Bar Association, the Ohio Judicial Conference, and the Lima Exchange Club. He has served three terms on the Ohio Board of Professional Conduct and is currently the Chief-Justice Elect of the Ohio Courts of Appeals Judges Association. Judge Willamowski lives with his wife, Mona, in Lima, Ohio. Together they have four children and ten grandchildren.

The Third District Court of Appeals hears appeals from 17 counties in northwest Ohio, including Allen, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan, Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, Shelby, Union, Van Wert and Wyandot counties. While the court is headquartered in Lima, the judges also travel to the county seats within the Third District to hear cases. The judges additionally hold court annually at Ohio Northern University to educate the law students on the practices of appellate courts.