Yarger receives judge appointment

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — Governor Mike DeWine today announced the appointment of Van Wert County Prosecutor Eva J. Yarger to fill the vacancy in the Van Wert Court of Common Pleas, Probate and Juvenile Division.

Yarger, of Van Wert, will assume office on February 17, 2026, and will take the seat formerly held by Judge Kevin H. Taylor, who retired December 31, 2025. She will serve the remainder of the unfinished term and must run for election in November, 2026 to retain the seat. Before that, she has an opponent in the May 5 Republican primary election — Van Wert County Commissioner and local attorney Todd Wolfrum. A third candidate, Van Wert Law Director John Hatcher, withdrew from the race.

“I appreciate the confidence the Governor has shown in me,” Yarger said.

Yarger has served as the prosecutor for Van Wert County since 2017. She began her law career in 1989, when she served as an associate for local law office Johnson & Burchfield. In 1993, Yarger served as an associate at Hatcher, Diller, Rice & Beebe. In 1997, Yarger joined Young, Taylor, Steele, and Yarger as a partner, which later became Young & Yarger, while also serving as an assistant prosecutor for the Van Wert County Prosecutor’s Office from 1996 to 2017. In 2017, Yarger left Young & Yarger to serve as a full-time assistant prosecutor in Allen County for several months.  

In 1986, Yarger received a bachelor’s degree in political science and minors in English and economics from The Ohio State University. She received her juris doctorate from Arizona State University Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, formerly the Arizona State University College of Law in 1989.