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Governor selects J.P. Morgan as Mahoning County Court judge
YOUNGSTOWN
Gov. Mike DeWine appointed J.P. Morgan as a Mahoning County Court judge, succeeding Judge David D’Apolito, who stepped down to take a seat on the 7th District Court of Appeals.
Morgan, who will be officially sworn in next Monday, was among three finalists recommended to DeWine by a county Republican Party screening committee.
Morgan finished fourth in a six-person race Nov. 6, 2018, for a different county court judicial seat won by Molly Johnson.
“This is a great opportunity to do what I intended to do” last year, Morgan said.
Morgan has been an attorney since November 2001.
“It was a goal to eventually be a public servant,” he said. “I always felt I could use my education and skills to serve people.”
The seat will be up for election in November 2020 for the remainder of the term, which ends Dec. 31, 2022.
The screening committee interviewed eight candidates and recommended Morgan as well as A. Ross Douglass, who finished last in that November 2018 judicial race, and Ronald Knickerbocker, who unsuccessfully ran in 2000 for a county court seat.
“Our local party sent three very well-qualified names to the governor’s office knowing that whoever Gov. DeWine chose would represent the court with honesty and integrity,” said county Republican Party chairman Thomas McCabe, a member of the screening committee. “I am very happy for J.P. Morgan and his family as he embarks in this new endeavor as the newest member on the Mahoning County Court. If Judge Morgan conducts himself on the bench as he has in his personal and professional life, the court will be in good hands.”
Mark Munroe, who served on the screening committee and stepped down Feb. 21 as county party chairman, said: “This was one of the hardest selection processes we have been through, primarily because we had such good applicants.”
He added: “I really got to know [Morgan] during last year’s campaign, and he is impressive. Mahoning County has an unfortunate history with judges, as shown by the recent plea by former Judge [Diane] Vettori. I think that J.P. Morgan is just what the [Mahoning] Valley needs to help ensure confidence and trust in our courts.”
Vettori, a former county court judge, pleaded guilty Feb. 25 to federal charges stemming from a more than $100,000 theft from the estate of her deceased client. She will be sentenced June 13.