43
Visiting probate judge started work immediately
and David Skolnick
YOUNGSTOWN
A visiting judge assigned here by Ohio’s chief justice was on duty in Mahoning County Probate Court after the resignation of Mark Belinky as probate judge late Friday.
Visiting Judge R.R. Denny Clunk, a retired Stark County probate court judge, who occasionally has heard cases before as a visiting probate judge here, met with court supervisors and magistrates Monday.
Belinky has been under a cloud since FBI and Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation agents and sheriff’s deputies executed search warrants at the probate court and his Boardman home Feb. 7.
Charges could include engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records, bribery, money laundering, theft and theft in office, according to the search warrants, but no charges have been filed against Belinky.
Shortly after Belinky’s resignation, Diane E. Hayes, the Ohio Supreme Court’s judicial assignment specialist, sent an email at 6:10 p.m. Friday to LuAnn James, executive assistant in the probate court, saying the top court’s Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor had assigned Judge Clunk here.
The appointment lasts until June 17 or until Gov. John Kasich, a Republican, appoints a new probate judge.
County Prosecutor Paul J. Gains appointed Daniel Kasaris, a Cleveland-based senior assistant Ohio attorney general, on Feb. 6 as a special assistant county prosecutor for the duration of the case of State of Ohio vs. Mark Belinky and other potential defendants. Kasaris will assist the county in the investigation, presentation and, if necessary, prosecution of the case. He will serve at no cost to the county, Gains said.
Meanwhile, the county’s Republican Party expects to move fast on recommending candidates to fill out the remainder of Belinky’s term, which expires Feb. 8, 2015.
A list of three finalists should be submitted to the governor by early April, said party Chairman Mark Munroe.
The party is giving interested applicants until 5 p.m. March 27 to fill out a questionnaire and give signed authorization for the state to conduct a background check.
Those who want copies of the questionnaire, with 55 questions, and the background information form should contact party officials by email at mahoning.co.gop@gmail.com.
The completed information must be delivered to the party no later than 5 p.m. March 27.
The information can be mailed to the Mahoning County Republican Party, 621 Boardman-Canfield Road, Boardman, OH 44512 or delivered in person to the office between noon and 5 p.m. March 25-27. Also, applicants can call 330-629-7006 to schedule a drop-off appointment before the deadline.
To be eligible for the job, under state law, candidates must be a qualified elector in the county and have at least six years of experience practicing law in Ohio or serving as a judge of a court of record in any jurisdiction or a combination of both.
The candidates will meet with a screening committee — likely consisting of party officials and attorneys — shortly after the deadline, Munroe said.
“There is interest [from attorneys] in the county in filling this seat,” he said.
Kasich hasn’t given the county party a submission deadline, but the finalists should be in his hands by early April, Munroe said.
“There’s a sense of urgency as probate court judge is an important position,” Munroe said. “The committee will meet to get the names of finalists to the governor.”
Though Belinky resigned Friday, he hadn’t withdrawn as a candidate in the May 6 Democratic primary as of late Monday.
He needs to send a letter to the county elections board saying he no longer is a candidate for probate court judge.
If Belinky formally withdraws, however, his name will remain on the ballot. The board will post signs at every polling location and send notes with absentee-ballot requests to let people know that votes for Belinky won’t count.
In the probate court Monday, one of Judge Clunk’s first tasks was to meet with a printer to order new marriage licenses and court stationery bearing Judge Clunk’s name.
Judge Clunk said he will be here several full days each week and intends to preside personally over all contested matters.
“Anything that’s in dispute, I’m going to hear. The uncontested matters are going to continue to be heard by the magistrates,” he said of the court’s three magistrates.
Although he said he doesn’t want to unnecessarily disturb court operations, he said he has come across a few “archaic” and “unnecessary” procedures in the probate court here that should be eliminated to streamline court operations.
“The probate court should not be an impediment to the people. We should be here to help everybody — and that’s my goal,” he said.
Judge Clunk, who lives in Alliance, has been a probate judge for 29 years, 18 of them in Stark County. He has served as a visiting judge in 22 probate courts and five times as an interim judge.
“The personnel that I have met with are very competent people,” he said of the staff here as he prepared to review a stack of about 20 probate court forms used here.
On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, the county’s probate court operation rates a 7 or 8, he said.
Of the 14 staff members, all but three have been at the court for at least 10 years, said Lucia Lovell, court administrator.
The probate court disposes of about 2,500 cases a year, issues about 1,200 marriage licenses annually and has an $871,000 annual budget, Lovell said. The court has between 4,500 and 5,000 pending cases, she added.