43
Appeals court administrator retires
YOUNGSTOWN
In his 37 years with the 7th District Court of Appeals, Robert Budinsky saw the court go from typewriters and carbon paper to the computer age.
As court administrator since 1987, he guided the court through its 2006 move from cramped quarters in the Mahoning County Courthouse to its own new $3.4 million freestanding building at 131 W. Federal St. downtown.
A retirement reception will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday at the court for Budinsky, whose last day on the job was Dec. 24.
“I think the crowning achievement is where we are right now,” Budinsky said in an interview in the courtroom of the 10-year-old colonnaded building.
“We needed a quieter work space because of the nature of the work that we do” in researching and writing legal opinions, he added.
As administrator, Budinsky supervised the court’s 15-member support staff, oversaw its $2.2 million annual budget, handled its public outreach and communications, set case schedules, answered lawyers’ questions, served as court bailiff and even mowed its lawn and erected the 12-foot holiday tree in its rotunda.
“It was never a routine or mundane day in the office. It was always a unique challenge,” Budinsky said of his years with the court.
“It was just such a mix of different types of tasks that appealed to me,” he added.
A 1970 graduate of Boardman High School, Budinsky earned his bachelor’s degree in political science from Youngstown State University and his law degree from the University of Akron, joining the court as a law clerk in 1978.
He met the court’s presiding judge, Gene Donofrio, when both were YSU students, and they were first-year law school roommates.
Budinsky joined the appeals court staff after Judge Gene Donofrio recommended him to his father, Judge Joseph Donofrio, who then served on the appeals court and needed a law clerk.
“Rob’s probably one of the most talented, dedicated and hard-working individuals that I’ve been associated with,” Judge Gene Donofrio said of Budinsky.
Budinsky is also “one of the nicest guys I know and one of the humblest people I know,” Judge Gene Donofrio said, calling Budinsky’s retirement “the end of an era for the court.”
The four-judge appeals court hears and decides criminal and civil appeals from trial courts, including municipal, county and common pleas courts within its eight-county jurisdiction.
The court, which normally sits in three-judge panels, decides cases originating from Mahoning, Columbiana, Jefferson, Carroll, Belmont, Harrison, Monroe and Noble counties.
Budinsky, 63, lives in Poland with his wife, Diane, a retired Girard elementary school teacher.
They have a home in the Port St. Lucie, Fla., area, where Budinsky said he now wants to “spend some quality time.”
Their son, Robert, is a pediatrician and lives in Grand Rapids, Mich.
“I think 37 years of public service was enough. There’s another chapter in life that I want to live while I still have my good health to do so,” Budinsky said, explaining his decision to retire.
“I’m going to enjoy the simple things in life, pay attention more to healthy living, and go out and walk,” said Budinsky, adding that he also may renew his hobby of coin collecting.
Budinsky’s successor as appeals court administrator is Jeffrey Hendrickson, who joined the court staff 17 years ago and most recently was assistant court administrator.