A special visit by the Third District Court of Appeals judges made their way to a Paulding County in a Historic visit on October 1st. The three judge panel heard two cases in front of a government class at Wayne Trace along with our local judges, prosecutors and attorneys in Paulding County. The appeals judges took their seats in the Paulding County Common Pleas Court in the second floor of the historic Paulding County Courthouse.
The Honorable Judge Tiffany Beckman withdrew from the bench in her own courtroom to become a spectator herself in the public gallery. She said, “This is the first time I can remember the visiting court of appeals ever coming to Paulding County.” Adding that she has been a sitting judge for 18 years. The Ohio Supreme Court had visited once and it was very tight because of the number of judges that needed to sit around the judges bench.
Of the two cases that were heard one originated in Paulding County. The Paulding App. 11-24-04, Timothy A. Feasby, et al. v. Joseph Garza, et al., John Hatcher for Appellants, Timothy and Rhonda Feasby. Timothy Holtsberry for for Appellees, Joseph and Karen Garza. The case heard by the Appeals court was about a dispute of the payment of part of the fence separating their properties.
The second case was over OVI charges brought against the defendant in Van Wert County. 2) Van Wert No. 15-24-04, State of Thomas C. Medford; Kenneth Rexford for Appellant, Thomas Medford; Dillon Stass for the State of Ohio.
When the hearings finished judges John R. Willamowski, William R. Zimmerman, and Mark C. Miller asked if there was any questions or comments. One of the questions asked by West Bend News is what is hte state of the situation of incoming attorneys vs retiring defenders? The response was there s a great need for young people to get into the profession. Williamoski stated that there seems to be a lot less judges in their 40’s than those in their 30’s or 50’s. Judges cannot run for office past the age of 70 in Ohio, and two of the courts positions are in their last term. Several students also asked questions about the cases, and the judges ask questions to the students. The attorneys for the Van Wert County case also explained their backgrounds.
The website for court included this: The Court of Appeals for the Third Appellate District is one of twelve intermediate appellate courts established under Section 3, Article IV, of the Ohio Constitution. The Court has appellate jurisdiction as may be provided by law to review the judgments and final orders issued by common pleas courts, municipal courts and county courts in the district.
The Court also has original jurisdiction to decide in the first instance petitions for writ of mandamus, habeas corpus, quo warranto, prohibition and procedendo.
Although the Court’s office is located in Allen County, the Third Appellate District covers the counties of Allen, Auglaize, Crawford, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Henry, Logan, Marion, Mercer, Paulding, Putnam, Seneca, Shelby, Union, Van Wert and Wyandot.
The young people came out and learned a lot through this court session held in Paulding. I’m sure it won’t be forgotten soon.
