Governor picks Franken to replace Cronin as judge

COLUMBUS — Gov. Ted Strickland has appointed Timothy E. Franken to replace the recently retired Judge Maureen A. Cronin on the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court bench.

Franken’s appointment as judge is effective immediately, and he’ll have to run for election next year to the remainder of Judge Cronin’s six-year term, which began Jan. 1, 2007. Franken said he expects to be sworn in Sept. 29 in the county courthouse rotunda.

Franken, 59, of Beaver Township, currently chief trial lawyer in the criminal division of the Mahoning County prosecutor’s office, brings to the bench 28 years. An assistant county prosecutor here for 11 years, he was previously in private law practice for 17 years.

“I’m very honored that the governor selected me,” Franken said today. His goal as a judge would be “to give the people of Mahoning County fair and impartial justice and to efficiently process the cases that come through that court,’’ he said.

“I’ve been a trial lawyer for a long time, so I know how things work. That equips me to be able to handle these cases in a fair and efficient manner,” Franken added.

Having tried 12 death penalty murder cases and more than 100 felony cases, Franken has also tried civil, domestic relations, probate and juvenile cases. He has served as legal counsel and acting executive director for the Western Reserve Transit Authority.

A graduate of Ursuline High School, he received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Youngstown State University and his law degree from the University of Akron.

Franken, a Democrat, ran unsuccessfully for Seventh District Court of Appeals in 1996 and 2006 and for common pleas judge in 2002. He has two sons, Brad and Luke, and two daughters, Corey and Abigail. His older son, Brad, is a master sergeant in the Air Force Reserve and a civilian employee at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station.

Franken was chosen from among three finalists submitted to the governor by a judicial appointments recommendation panel. The other two were Robert Bush, chief of the criminal division in the county prosecutor’s office, and Magistrate Tim Welsh of county common pleas court.

Judge Charles J. Bannon, a retired visiting judge, has been handling Judge Cronin’s cases since her July 1 retirement.

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