Judge hopes to teach public

Judge Trapp hopes to bring law closer to the people.
By ED RUNYAN
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- Judge Mary Jane Trapp believes in trying to make law more accessible to the people, even though she hopes most people won't need the knowledge.
Judge Trapp, elected last November to the seat on the 11th District Court of Appeals vacated by longtime Judge Donald R. Ford, says she has been surprised by the number of myths people have about the law.
For instance, she has heard the statement dozens of times, "I'll take it all the way to the Supreme Court."
But what people fail to understand is that the state's top court accepts only about 9 percent of cases people send there, she explained as she sat in her new office in the appeals court building on High Street. She assumed office Feb. 9. The court's jurisdiction is Trumbull, Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga and Portage counties, but the court is located in Warren because Trumbull County has the largest population of those counties.
Judge Trapp, who is from Geauga County, notes that the Ohio Supreme Court has traveled to various parts of the state to hear oral arguments in cases they are hearing.
She would like to see the 11th District do the same thing and believes some day you will be able to observe the judges hear oral arguments in a school gymnasium somewhere in the district. "It makes it all real," she said.
Public can listen
She said the public is also invited to listen to oral arguments at the appeals court building if anyone finds any of the cases interesting enough to hear.
The 49-year-old Columbus native says she also plans to continue to talk to community groups and at schools as she has throughout her legal career. The only things judges can't discuss, she noted, are pending cases.
"I've always said judges should be seen not just in a black robe on a bench somewhere," she said.
Judge Trapp has been in private practice with her husband, F.M. Apicella, since 1986 in Cleveland and has tried cases at all levels of the state's judicial system, including the 11th District Court.
Though she has been an appeals judge only for one week, Judge Trapp said she doesn't think being the judge will feel that much different to her until the first day she hears oral arguments on a case.
"I'm used to being in front of a judge being hammered and peppered with questions for 15 minutes," she said.
Layers of courts
Judge Trapp said the many layers of courts in the state and federal systems leave people quite confused and the appeals court is the least understood of all.
But what a state appeals court does is decide whether any lower court made an error in the way it handled a legal issue. Items as serious as felony criminal matters or as mundane as traffic tickets can be appealed to the 11th District, she said.
Most people can go a lifetime without having any dealings with courts of any kind, Judge Trapp noted. And she hopes that is true with most people because almost every legal issue imaginable involves some type of human misery -- criminal cases, divorce, child custody, or business disputes.
"We hope you won't have to come, but we're here if you do," Judge Trapp said.
Meanwhile, Judge Ford retired from the appeals court after serving there since 1982.
Judge Ford, 75, a Warren native, practiced law in Warren 15 years before becoming Warren Municipal Court judge in 1972. He served as common pleas court judge from 1976 through 1982.
He has been recognized with numerous community awards and has been involved in numerous civic and community projects. He was founder of the Warren Sports Hall of Fame and initiated Howland Park. He was president of the Howland Athletic Club and was active in sandlot baseball.
He also taught courses in criminal law and criminal evidence at Kent State University Trumbull Campus in Champion for 28 years.
runyan@vindy.com