1. law, govt and politics
2. government
3. courts and judiciary

6
From The
Bench
April
2015
SEND NEWSLETTER IDEAS TO DTOMS@CUYAHOGACOUNTY.US
Veterans Treatment Court Dedication Scheduled
After months of preparation and
training, the Cuyahoga County
Veterans Treatment Court will
have its dedication ceremony on
Friday, May 29, in the 4th floor
Jury Assembly Room.
After the Veterans Court was
approved at the November
Judges’ Meeting, Judge Michael
Jackson was named to head the
docket.
The mission of the Veterans
Court is to successfully
rehabilitate veterans by diverting
them from the traditional
criminal justice system and
providing them with the unique
tools they need to lead a
productive and law-abiding
lifestyle.
Judge Jackson, who served as a
Marine during the Vietnam War,
says starting a Veterans Court
was the main reason he ran for
Judge.
Under the Cuyahoga County
Common Pleas Veterans Court,
Judges will have the discretion to
transfer a veteran/defendant’s
case to the Veterans Court where
the program will last for a
minimum of 12 months.
IN THIS ISSUE!
Jury Rooms Upgraded
Page #2
Court Reporters
Compete Pages #3
Court Golf Outing To Be
Held In September Page #4
A three day training session took
place in early April. Pictured
above are (left to right):
Jon Reiss, Cuyahoga County Veterans
Services Exec. Dir.; Maria Nemec,
Chief Probation Officer; Jack Utrata,
Probation Officer; Francis Arinze,
Public Defender; Ted Chaplik, TASC;
Kenneth Arnold, Justice For Vets;
Judge Michael Jackson; Mark
Kammerer, JFV; Victoria Marion,
Veterans Justice Outreach Officer;
Joyce Barrow, JFV; Amanda WozniakWoodruff, Veterans Court
Coordinator; Chief Kelly Stillman,
Rocky River Police; Jay Hadam,
Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Dept.
May Birthdays! Page #4
FROM THE BENCH | Issue # 6
2
Judge Sheehan Named
Trustee for CMBA
Jury Rooms Upgraded
After 40 Years
Sharing Thank You
Notes
Congratulations to Judge
Brendan Sheehan on being
elected as an at-large trustee for
the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar
Association.
There was a time when burnt
orange and avocado green were
THE colors to have. That was the
case when the Justice Center
opened in 1976.
A recent suggestion for the
newsletter was to share thank
you notes that the Court receives.
I think it’s a great idea! These are
things we should be sharing.
Judge Sheehan will be sworn in
when the new CMBA fiscal year
begins in June. The
CMBA's Eighth Annual Meeting
on Friday, June 5 at the Marriott
at Key Center. For more
information about the Annual
Meeting, please click here.
Fortunately times change and so
do color patterns. Over a pair of
weekends in April, all of the
Court’s jury deliberation rooms
got new chairs thanks to funding
from the capital improvements
budget.
This month’s letter was sent to
Probation Officer Jarvis Clark
from woman whose charge was
expunged after serving probation.
And so…out with the old…
She tells Clark, “You helped save
my life and I will be forever
grateful...you believed in me
when I didn’t believe in myself.”
Judge Sheehan will serve a three
year term ending at the 2018
CMBA Annual Meeting.
Court @ Cedar Point
Cedar Point opens for the 2015
season on May 9! Once again, the
Court has worked with Cedar
Point to offer employees special
discounts for this summer.
There are three days for which
you can purchase discounted
tickets: Saturday, May 23;
Saturday, August 8; and
Saturday, October 10
(Halloweekends!). Tickets will be
$36 instead of the gate price of
$62.
You can also purchase “Good Any
Day” (GAD) tickets for $45. These
can be used any day during the
season and come with a variety of
food/water park/etc. options.
Watch your email for more details
and a link for ordering!
And in with the new!
If you receive a thank you note
that you’d like to share with the
Court, please email me at
dtoms@cuyahogacounty.us . I’d
like to share more of these
amazing and inspirational
messages in the future.
And thank you to everyone who
works so hard to help people get
back on their feet!
FROM THE BENCH | Issue # 6
3
APL/Food Trucks
Returning
Judge Friedman Orders
Baby To Appear
Court Reporters Set
Speed Bars High
Justice Fur All returns to the
Justice Center on Thursday, May
7, and every other Thursday after
that during the summer.
If you ever had a baby, the due
date was circled on the calendar.
But, more often than not, the
baby has a mind of its own.
The Cleveland Animal Protective
League will bring its rolling
adoption center “Rover” to the
Huntington Garage parking lot off
of Lakeside for two hours during
lunch.
That was the case for Marcie
Distad, staff attorney for Judge
Stuart Friedman.
Call the Court Reporter Olympics!
Several of our court reporters
competed in a speed contest at
the Ohio Court Reporters
Association’s conference in
Columbus in March.
Court employees, jurors, and
others can spend a few minutes
with dogs and cats that are
looking for Forever Homes. If you
find your new best friend, you can
make arrangements to adopt on
site and pick up at the APL later
after work.
Marcie’s grandchild was due on
April 14…and failed to show. And
you know what happens when
people fail to show?
Judge Friedman took things into
his own hands and issued an
Order for Baby Distad to appear.
It read as follows:
“Inasmuch as Baby Distad failed
to appear on April 14, 2015 as
scheduled, the Court orders Baby
Distad to appear on or before
April 17, 2015. Baby Distad’s
failure to appear shall result in a
hearing where Baby Distad shall
show cause as to why his or her
appearance was delayed. IT IS SO
ORDERED.”
Good news! George Jarvis Distad
arrived, as ordered, on April 17!
Rose Bennett, bailiff to Judge Kathleen
Sutula, threatened to adopt this little lady
who did find a Forever Home.
Then beginning Monday, June 1,
Memorial Mondays will return to
Huntington Park! Food trucks will
be on hand from 11:30AM until
1:30PM (or whenever they run out
of food).
Weekly food-truck lineups will be
sent to Court employees, so be
prepared for more variety!
There are three portions to the
speed contest; literary, jury
charge and Q&A.
Four people from our office took
part in the speed contest. They
all qualified in the Jury Charge
portion, which is at 240 words per
minute.
Ilene White came in 3rd place,
Tim Meinke came in 5th place,
Greg Mizanin came in 6th place
and Marlene Ebner came in 10th
place.
In the Testimony portion, which
is at 280 words per
minute, Marlene came in 2nd
place.
Marlene also came in 2nd place
overall. Congratulations to all!
Feast of St. Joseph
A reminder that the postponed 3rd
Annual Feast of St. Joseph will be
held Thursday, May 7, on the 12th
floor.
The lunch sponsored by Judges
Kathleen Sutula and John
Sutula, along with their staffs, is
traditionally held on March 19 to
honor the patron saint of their
Polish ancestry.
Everyone is invited!
FROM THE BENCH | Issue # 6
4
May
Birthdays!
Judges
Probation
Psy Clinic
José Villanueva
Anita Olsafsky
Cathleen Cerny
Stuart Friedman
Anna Rokhlina
Cortney Kohberger
Anne Tullos
Galit Askenazi
Arbitration
John Minter
Bailiffs
Colleen Gallagher
Central Scheduling
Arielle Edwards
Brett Taylor
Brian Thelen
Anne McDonough
Dewey Buckner
Lauren Bailey
Charise Flowers
Girtha Smith
Joanne Gibbons
Hilary Schleter
Jordan Luminais
Javares Green
Court Reporters
Kari Jones
Ellen Rassie
Kathleen Patton
Kristin Beutler
Kealy McNally
LaToya Jones
John Boutros
Mary Lynn D’Amico
Kathleen DeCrane
Michael Yezbak
Mark Shannon
Michelle Gordon
Foreclosure
Molly Leckler
Amy Jackson
Nicole Byron
Christopher Olsztyn
Pamela Thompson
Heather Malecki
Patricia Schmitz
Information Systems
Kamil Drutel
TASC
Dariusz Dolub
Julie Piotrowski
Diane Cieply
Criminal Records
Staff Attorney
Justice Fore All Golf
Alyson Brown
Outing
Scheduled
Sertarian Hall
Wendy McWilliam
Justice Fore All Golf
Outing Scheduled
The 2nd Annual Justice Fore All
Golf Outing has been scheduled
for Friday, September 11, at Royal
Crest Golf Club in Columbia
Station. More details to come, so
save the date!