The judge who presides over the probate and juvenile divisions of Perry County Common Pleas Court wrote in a column published Oct. 21 that she cannot stand for another term because of Ohio's constitutional age restriction on judges, which she said rules her out by roughly a few months.
As she described it, judicial candidates may not appear on the ballot if they would reach age 70 by the time the term starts. She wrote that the provision was placed in the Ohio Constitution more than 55 years ago and that no other elected office in the state carries such a limit.
In the first-person piece, she listed work she said the court has accomplished: obtaining more than $40 million in grants, seeing students graduate through the ALPHA school who might otherwise not have finished, 25 years of a residential rehabilitation facility for young males, and 19 years of free legal help through the Perry County Free Legal Clinic. She also pointed to collaboration with schools, agencies and the Board of Developmental Disabilities, along with clinic efforts including Wills for Vets, Wills for Seniors and recent assistance with disaster relief questions.
The judge said she will stay in office until Feb. 9 and continue working daily. She said she has been offered a chance to work with Steve Carr in the common pleas court's general division if Carr is successful, and that she would accept; she added that Carr also helps with the free legal clinic.
The column closes with her thanks to county residents and a promise to keep serving in some capacity.