7 candidates vie for 2 seats on 11th District appeals court

Candidates point to their legal experience as a reason to vote for them.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Seven candidates, none of them from Trumbull County, are seeking two seats on the 11th District Court of Appeals, which is based in downtown Warren.
The appellate court's jurisdiction is Trumbull, Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga and Portage counties.
With the retirement of longtime Judge Donald R. Ford Sr. of Warren, two Democrats and three Republicans are seeking to replace him for the term beginning Feb. 9, 2007.
The Democrats are Mary Jane Trapp of Russell and Albert L. Purola of Willoughby, while the Republicans are Paul Brickner and Jeffrey H. Black, both of Willoughby, and Dorothy Henry Lee of Geneva.
For the term beginning Feb. 10, 2007, Judge Diane V. Grendel of Chesterland is running unopposed for re-election on the Republican slate, and Thomas E. Henry of Conneaut is unopposed on the Democratic side.
Partner in law firm
Trapp, 49, is a managing partner of the law firm of Apicella & amp; Trapp, Cleveland, and was an unsuccessful candidate for the seat in 2004.
Trapp said that when she was president of the Ohio Bar Association in 2001 and 2002, she learned that people want confidence in the judicial system.
She said she believes that, as a judge, she can correct mistakes that may have occurred at the trial level.
Purola, 62, hasn't been successful in running for various judicial seats. This is the fifth time since 1976 that he is running for a judgeship.
Purola, who is in private practice, has had a varied background, from owning and operating Pine Ridge Country Club to being a part-time assistant attorney general to serving as an acting judge in Willoughby Municipal Court.
Purola said that since 1970 he has tried about 125 state and federal cases, including three capital murder trials.
"People should vote for me because no candidate has ever come to this court [11th District] with more experience at this level," he said.
Judge and litigator
Brickner, 65, divides his experience and qualifications into two areas.
He served more than 20 years as an administrative law judge in Cleveland and Falls Church, Va. He has served as an acting judge at the municipal and juvenile court levels. As a colonel, he served as an appellate judge for seven years with the Army Court of Criminal Appeals.
The other area is as a litigator. Brickner said he has prosecuted many complex cases, including a gang of bank robbers and Medicare and mail frauds. He also has had 43 items published in major law school journals.
Black, 48, is in private practice and has served as magistrate at the Willoughby Municipal Court and as a member of the Willoughby City Council.
Black said he is seeking the office because of his qualifications, including a broad range of experience in state law, including criminal law , domestic relations, family law, juvenile law and probate and civil law.
Black said he is seeking an open seat on the bench not because of problems at the court, but rather to evaluate the policies and procedures and implement changes as needed.
Common pleas magistrate
Lee, 51, has been a magistrate at the Geauga County Common Pleas Court. Law runs through her family as her father is a former county prosecutor and her brother is a probate/juvenile court judge. Her great-grandfather was a circuit judge.
Lee said she wants to become an appellate court judge because she enjoys writing, and wants to be a part of the process that sets precedents.
It is an important judgeship because in some cases it is the court of last resort, she added.
Lee believes she is qualified because as a magistrate over the past eight years she has presided daily over trials involving domestic violence, custody, divorce, child support, unemployment law and civil matters.
Overall, she has 20 years of legal experience, including private practice.
yovich@vindy.com