YOUNGSTOWN Wanted: bankruptcy judge; some experience necessary

It will take about a year for a new bankruptcy court judge to be named.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- The U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is seeking applications from those interested in becoming the next U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Youngstown to replace the retiring Judge William T. Bodoh, who has presided over the court since 1985.
For the past 18 years, Judge Bodoh has handled numerous bankruptcy cases -- from the average person with troubled finances to giants of industry.
But the 64-year-old judge is retiring Jan. 2.
So how do you replace a well-known and established judge?
You take out a classified ad, of course.
Vindicator ad
The court of appeals recently advertised in The Vindicator seeking candidates to replace Judge Bodoh. The appointment is for a 14-year term.
The advertisement directs applicants to the court's Web site, www.ca6.uscourts.gov, where an application for the job can be downloaded. The deadline to apply is Aug. 1.
Kay Lockett, the court's assistant circuit executive, said one person has already submitted an application. She expects a flurry of applicants at the Aug. 1 deadline.
The qualifications
To be eligible for the position, which pays $142,324 annually, applicants must be members in good standing of the highest court of at least one state; a member in good standing of every bar association of which they are a member; have five years of experience of either practicing law, being a judge, or being a federal judicial officer; and must show integrity, good character, good health, and outstanding legal ability.
Also, applicants are not eligible for the job if they are related to a judge on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals, its judicial council, or to a judge of the district court to be served.
The applications will be turned over to a merit selection panel, consisting of three to seven attorneys from the Northern District of Ohio appointed by Chief Judge Boyce Martin of the court of appeals. The committee will screen the applications, conduct interviews and do background checks, Lockett said.
The panel has 90 days from Aug. 1 to file a report with the circuit's judicial council -- the circuit's governing body consisting of the 10 circuit judges, nine chief district justices in the circuit and two ad-hoc members -- with the names of five to 10 candidates recommended for the job, Lockett said.
Final stages
The judicial council's executive committee will review the report and reduce the number of finalists to three. The names of those three finalists will be given to the full judicial council. If approved by a majority of its members, the council will turn the names over to the judges on the court of appeals. If the three names are rejected, the merit council would be asked to submit a second list of nominees.
Once three nominees are submitted by the judicial council, their names will be publicly disclosed. The court of appeals will then make a selection.
The person selected must undergo a background check by the FBI and the IRS, which could take 90 days, before the appointment is official, Lockett said.
The entire process could take up to a year, she said.
With Judge Bodoh retiring in January, bankruptcy judges from other courts in the Northern District of Ohio will fill in for him in Youngstown until a new judge is named, Lockett said.
The new judge doesn't have to be from the Mahoning Valley, Lockett said. The judge has only to reside in the Northern District of Ohio, which takes in 40 counties in the state's upper half and includes Akron, Toledo, Cleveland, Canton and the Mahoning Valley, she said.
Judge Bodoh couldn't be reached to comment.
He was appointed in February 1985 to a 14-year term, and reappointed in 1999 to another term. Before his 1985 appointment, the position was vacant for more than two years after Joseph T. Molitoris retired.
During his 18 years in bankruptcy court, Judge Bodoh presided over the bankruptcy cases of Phar-Mor Inc., and steel companies CSC Ltd., LTV Corp., and Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp.
skolnick@vindy.com