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Federal judge in Youngstown to step down July 3
Peter C. Economus will continue to hear cases on a part-time basis.
YOUNGSTOWN — U.S. District Judge Peter C. Economus is retiring from active service July 3, 14 years to the day that he was sworn in as a federal judge.
Judge Economus, who was appointed by former President Bill Clinton in 1995, announced his retirement in a letter he sent Wednesday to President Barack Obama, who will appoint his successor.
Federal district judges are appointed for life by the president, subject to U.S. Senate confirmation.
“It is my intention to continue to render substantial judicial service as a senior judge,’’ Judge Economus wrote to the president.
Copies of the letter went to nine others, including Ohio’s U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown and George V. Voinovich, who will participate in the selection of his successor; John G. Roberts Jr., chief justice of the United States; and several federal judges and other federal court officials.
Judge Economus, who resides in Poland with his wife, Marie, said taking senior judge status means he will continue to hear cases on a part-time basis.
As a senior judge, he said: “I have more control over my life as well as my career. Instead of the docket controlling me, now I control the docket,” meaning he can select which cases he wants to hear as a senior judge.
The judge, 65, said he will likely eventually move to Columbus, where most other members of his family live, and he hopes to hear cases there.
His mild-mannered personality helps in achieving a fair resolution of civil cases short of a trial, he said. “I like to solve problems with negotiation rather than just slamming the gavel,” he said. “I’ve been successful in settling cases. I think that’s one of my strong points.”
“I can put on the robe and maintain the dignity of the court, and I have to be firm in that regard, but in other respects, I’m pretty laid back,” he observed.
In retirement, Judge Economus, a lifelong Mahoning Valley resident, also said he hopes to spend more time enjoying Florida’s warmer winters.
Judge Economus said the process of choosing his successor will likely take several months. A screening committee will evaluate applicants for the $174,000-a-year post and recommend a successor, with candidates undergoing an FBI background check, he said.
Judge Economus said three people have expressed to him an interest in the appointment: Robert Shaker, who has a private law practice in Niles; Charles Fleming, a Cleveland area assistant federal public defender; and 7th District Court of Appeals Judge Gene Donofrio.
Shaker, 46, a lifelong Democrat, cited his 22 years of litigation experience in federal and state courts and 15 years as an acting judge registered with the Ohio Supreme Court. Shaker’s acting judge experience includes service in the Trumbull County courts and in Girard Municipal Court.
“I think I’m in a unique position to give back to the community by seeing that justice is served on a larger scale,” Shaker said.
In recent history, there has never been a federal judge in the Northern District of Ohio from Trumbull County, he observed. “I think it’s our turn,” he said.
Shaker is a son of former Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge Mitchell Shaker.
“I like to solve problems with negotiation rather than just slamming the gavel,” Judge R. Scott Krichbaum, a Mahoning County Common Pleas Court trial judge since 1991, also expressed an interest.
“It is a trial court position. I’m the senior trial court judge in all of Mahoning County. I was a deeply experienced criminal defense and trial lawyer in Mahoning County prior to that, and I was a court bailiff before that. I’ve been in the court system for 33 years now,” he said.
“It is a logical and desirable progression of the career that I’m involved in,” he said of the federal judgeship.
Although President Obama is a Democrat and the U.S. Senate has a Democratic majority, Judge Krichbaum, a Republican, said: “I have faith that the process should be non-political and that the objective would be to choose the best possible person.”
Judge Economus said he decided to retire now because Congress has authorized the judgeship he occupies only through Nov. 15 of this year and has the authority to renew it. If he were to retire after the expiration of the judgeship’s authorization, there would be no vacancy to fill, he explained.
Judge Economus, the sole U.S. District judge sitting in Youngstown, said he hopes his successor will also be assigned here. “I’d be very disappointed if this courthouse didn’t have a regular active district judge,” he said in his chambers in the Thomas D. Lambros U.S. Courthouse in downtown Youngstown.
There are 12 active (full-time) and five senior federal district judges in the Northern District of Ohio, to which Youngstown belongs. The other judges sit in Cleveland, Akron and Toledo. The district court is the trial court for federal criminal and civil cases.
Judge Economus expresses great pride in his Greek-American family origin. His father, Atty. Constantine Economus, who practiced law in downtown Youngstown until his death at the age of 93 in 1993, and his mother, Pipitsa, came here from Greece via Ellis Island. The judge’s brother, George, of Boardman, is retired from law practice, and George’s son, Basil, is a Columbus lawyer.
milliken@vindy.com