3 vie to unseat appeals judge
Staff report
WARREN
Incumbent 11th District Court of Appeals Judge Colleen M. O’Toole faces a challenge from fellow Painesville resident Eugene Lucci for the Republican nomination to the Warren-based court.
One of the Democrats running also is from Painesville, and the other Democrat is from Brookfield Township.
The court reviews the decisions rendered in common pleas and lower courts in Ashtabula, Lake, Geauga, Portage and Trumbull counties.
O’Toole, a Cleveland native, has served as appeals-court judge for the past five years. Before that, O’Toole, 49, worked in private practice and in a public defender’s office. She teaches as an adjunct professor at Kent State University.
Lucci, 55, a Youngstown native, has served as a Lake County Common Pleas Court judge since 2001 and also worked as a detective and police officer in Lake County. He graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School in 1972.
In a Vindicator questionnaire, O’Toole said she has implemented productivity and quality control for court management during her time with the court and hopes she can make the court more user-friendly.
Her top priorities if elected are to develop judicial-performance review criteria for all judicial levels, encourage pro bono (at no cost) representation to those who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer and to educate the public more fully about the role of the judicial branch of government.
Lucci says he does not believe in legislating from the bench.
“I have and will continue to administer justice without respect to persons and be guided only by the law,” he wrote in a candidate questionnaire.
If elected, Lucci said he will restore confidence and functionality in the court and explain decisions so that the parties and public know why the case was decided the way it was.
Running in the Democratic primary are Brookfield attorney Thomas R. Wright and Painesville attorney Neil Wilson.
Wright, a 14-year Trumbull County resident, says he’s running for the position “to better serve the parties, the practicing bar, other courts and the general public by issuing full opinions regarding the legal issues before the court.”
Wright, who was a clerk under former 11th District Court of Appeals Court Judge Donald R. Ford, said he reviewed hundreds of appeals and made recommendations to the judges while serving as clerk.
He also worked with the judges to prepare the court’s decisions. He has tried numerous jury trials over 15 years as an attorney and was named the 2005-06 Lawyer of the Year by the Mahoning County Bar Association.
He serves as acting judge for Trumbull County’s Eastern District Court.
Wilson has served as judge for Painesville Municipal Court, prosecutor for the City of Mentor, assistant prosecutor for Ashtabula County, solicitor for Perry Village and special prosecutor for Lake County. He is a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy.
Wilson said he brings a good balance of legal experience, life experience, maturity and integrity to the court.
“My career as an attorney and as a trial judge has been satisfying and successful. Service on the court of appeals would present me with the opportunity to give back to my profession and to my community,” he said.