MAHONING COUNTY The third floor of courthouse is popular location

By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Another contestant has entered the battle for space in the Mahoning County Courthouse.
Domestic Relations Judge Beth A. Smith has ordered county commissioners to provide her with space on the third floor.
The problem is that earlier this week, the general division judges had already staked their claim to the space she wants. General division judges hear civil and criminal cases.
Now, commissioners are caught in the middle of what appears to be a judicial turf war.
"We'll work it out," said Commissioner David Ludt. "I'm not concerned about it at all."
What's happening
The prosecutor's office is located on the third floor but is scheduled to move into the adjacent county administration building in January.
The five general division judges -- Maureen A. Cronin, Jack Durkin, James C. Evans, R. Scott Krichbaum and Robert Lisotto -- signed an entry Monday ordering commissioners to provide them with the entire third floor once the prosecutor leaves.
They said in their order that the courts need the space to consolidate their administrative offices, which are scattered across several floors in the building.
Judge Smith filed her entry Friday afternoon, saying the other judges' entry took her by surprise. She said domestic relations is a "separate but equal division" of common pleas court and entitled to the same consideration when it comes to allocation of space in the courthouse.
"The common pleas judges put their order on without any notice or consultation with me whatsoever," Judge Smith said. "It came as a surprise that we didn't have communication on this issue."
Judge Smith's courtroom and some administrative offices are on the fourth floor. Her court order says that about two-thirds of her operation, though, is in the basement, including magistrates' hearing rooms, family services and domestic violence facilities.
Other locations
For some five years, she has pushed to have her operation consolidated on the fourth floor. She's looked in the past at space currently occupied by the county law library, also on the fourth floor.
But with no plans to move the law library in the near future, the judge said she's lately focused on the third-floor space occupied by the prosecutor's civil division, the grand jury room and victim witness program.
Judge Evans said he understands Judge Smith's need for more space, but it's not likely that the general division judges will back off their order.
"She definitely has some legitimate concerns," said Judge Evans, whose courtroom is on the third floor. "But I can't say we would be willing to compromise in any fashion until we all sit down and go over the actual need."
Gary Kubic, county administrator, said a judicial summit is apparently in order to resolve the conflict.
"I don't know who wins in a court-order war," Kubic said. "Since they're all elected officials, I think the judges should sit down and discuss what's best for delivery of service to the people they serve."
Judge Smith also ordered commissioners to meet with all judges and develop a long-term master plan for utilization of courthouse space. Ludt said he thinks that's the real motivation behind her order.
"I think this was just to get our attention," he said.
Judge Evans said the issue of a master plan for courthouse space allocation has been bandied about for years, but nothing was ever done. That's why the general division judges took their action earlier this week.
"We just wanted to get it off dead center and get something going," he said.
bjackson@vindy.com