Muni Court judge candidates speak

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

With the May primary fast approaching, the two candidates for the only countywide primary contest – Van Wert Municipal Court judge – got the chance to speak to fellow Republicans during the county party organization’s monthly luncheon held at Willow Bend Country Club.

Current Judge Jill Leatherman and local attorney Todd Wolfrum both spoke about their backgrounds and also gave some general information on their respective judicial styles.

The candidates, who both received their licenses to practice law on the same day – November 18, 2002 – also have worked hard to get where they are today.

Wolfrum, who won the coin toss and spoke first, stressed his independence as an attorney and his experience as a courtroom lawyer.

Noting his conservative background and his opposition to “judicial activism,” Wolfrum also briefly discussed how the courts are organized and what he feels are the duties of a Municipal Court judge, noting the fact that Municipal Court cases involve misdemeanor offenses and civil actions up to $15,000.

“What this means is that a Municipal Court judge often has a larger chance to interact with people who come before the court,” Wolfrum noted, adding that a judge in that court is “often dealing with people and their problems, rather than, I guess, trying to fix society.”

“That’s why it’s important to have somebody that understands the law and the issues these people are dealing with,” Wolfrum said.

Since judicial ethics don’t allow candidates to discuss issues that could come before them in court, both stressed their backgrounds and the obstacles they overcame to become attorneys. Wolfrum said he felt his three main qualities include his independence, competence and persistence in the face of difficult circumstances.

Wolfrum noted that he was likely the only attorney now practicing in Van Wert who started a law practice from scratch, adding that the usual way is for older, established attorneys to take them under their wing.

“I didn’t have clients, I didn’t have money,” Wolfrum said, adding that he worked hard to get where he is now after nine years experience, but also stressed that his background also means he will be independent and impartial.

“To be a judge, you’ve got to be independent,” Wolfrum said, noting that developing his own practice has given him the wherewithal to avoid judicial pitfalls, such as succumbing to the pressure attorneys put on judges to get a favorable decision.

That career began with a bachelor’s degree in 1993 from Bluffton College and a law degree from the University of Toledo in 2002, with Wolfrum noting that he worked a lot of different jobs to pay for college and law school.

Wolfrum also noted that his background, which includes stints as a sportswriter, and newspaper editor (The Whig), construction worker and factory worker, would, he feels, give his decisions more credibility, since he can relate to many of the defendants who come into Municipal Court, since he’s been where they are.

Wolfrum stressed that his background has also made him strong, and definitely not a quitter.

“I won’t quit when it gets difficult,” he said, adding, “I won’t run and hide.”

Leatherman also talked about her own challenges in becoming an attorney, with perhaps the biggest one the fact that she grew up in “Bucktown,” a poor area on the wrong side of the tracks in First Ward where college wasn’t really an option for children.

The daughter of factory workers who hadn’t been to college themselves, Leatherman said both her parents supported her dream of becoming an attorney – a dream that began when she was 13 years old and sat in on a day of the murder trial of John George Spirko Jr. in 1984.

“I was immediately in love with practicing law,” Leatherman said, although she noted that marriage and the birth of a young son made college seem less achievable than ever.

She said she finally made the difficult decision to quit her job to attend college – with the support of her husband, Kurt – graduating magna cum laude from The Ohio State University. Along the way, she also had another child, a daughter this time.

After earning a bachelor’s degree, Leatherman said her husband then challenged her to take the law school entrance exam. “You don’t challenge a kid from Bucktown and expect them not to do it,” she said to laughs from those who attended the luncheon.

She took – and passed – the exam and later earned her law degree from Ohio Northern University.

Leatherman said she is basing her judicial campaign on a three-pronged platform: Integrity, experience and community reinvestment.

On the idea of integrity, Leatherman said she has always believed strongly in a statement made by former president John Quincy Adams: “Always stand on principle, even if you stand alone.”

Leatherman also touted her own broad legal experience, which includes a term as Van Wert law director, a stint as a claims attorney for Central Insurance Company and her appointment to the Municipal Court judgeship to replace former Judge Phil W. Campbell.

Leatherman also explained her community reinvestment program, which includes establishing programs in Municipal Court that will help those who appear in that court, as well as others involved in the court system. One program that is gaining credence among her fellow jurists and law enforcement agencies is a video arraignment program she is promoting that would allow defendants in jail to remain there during the arraignment process.

Leatherman said video arraignments would improve court security and also cut costs involved in transporting defendants to and from local courts.

The current Municipal Court judge also noted that she was using non-tax dollars received by the court to make some needed improvements in the courtroom and related areas.

Whichever candidate wins the May primary will also likely receive a new six-year term as Municipal Court judge, barring write-in or independent candidates filing for the position.