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Cuyahoga County Chief Magistrate graduates from exclusive fellows program
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: June 24, 2016
She’s devoted her entire career to the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Division of Domestic Relations and recently Chief Magistrate Serpil Ergun joined an exclusive group of court professionals after becoming a fellow of the Institute for Court Management (ICM).
The ICM Fellows Program, the flagship offering of the National Center for State Courts Institute for Court Management, traces its history to the late U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren E. Burger’s call to improve court administration management. It’s the only program of its kind in the United States.
Since it was established more than 45 years ago, nearly 1,250 court professionals in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Guam and 12 foreign countries have become fellows after completing the intensive four-phase educational program designed to better prepare court professionals for management and leadership positions.
On May 6, Magistrate Ergun and 17 other court professionals from the U.S. and Guam took part in graduation ceremonies at the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C.
“I have always had a love of learning,” said Ergun. “I’m at a stage in my career now where I want to use my knowledge and add to it to enhance the field of court administration.
“The fellowship teaches court officials the value of research and how it is important to make evidence-based decisions by looking at actual data.”
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, Ergun grew up in Solon, Ohio getting her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Case Western Reserve University.
Afterwards she enrolled in an anthropology master’s degree program at Kent State University. However shortly after beginning she decided to change directions.
“I realized I wanted to do something else and since I was always interested in law and government it seemed like a natural progression to go to law school,” said Ergun.
After receiving her juris doctor from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, she took a job in 1986 as a law clerk in the Domestic Relations Division of the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, eventually becoming a referee and then a magistrate.
The mother of three adult daughters lives in Solon with her husband, attorney Douglas Andrews.
She began working toward her ICM fellowship in 2015.
To become an ICM Fellow, a candidate must first achieve the status of Certified Court Manager (CCM) and then Certified Court Executive (CCE) after taking a series of in-depth courses, including a distance-learning component to prepare the person to handle the court project phase.
The project phase requires each candidate to choose a court research and improvement topic and design and complete an independent master’s level assignment that relates to evaluating and implementing a key court activity in his/her home jurisdiction.
Participants present the results of their findings and recommendations to their classmates and a panel made up of National Center researchers and court administrators from all over the country who are fellows.
“I received the Certified Court Manager certification in 2014,” said Ergun. “I started working toward it in 2012. I received the Certified Court Executive certification in 2015 and I was named a fellow in 2016. The entire process from start to finish was five years.
“Some people stop after getting the CCM, others go on to get the CCE and stop after that. A few go on and become fellows.”
Ergun studied for the CCM in Ohio through a program run by the Ohio Supreme Court Judicial College and the National Center for State Courts.
“The fellowship began in January 2015 with the distance-learning phase,” she said. “Then we went to Williamsburg, Virginia where the National Center is located for three weeks in June 2015 where we earned the CCE.”
Afterwards, she came back to Ohio to work on her research project for a year, returning to Arlington, Virginia in May 2016 to make her presentation.
Ergun focused her research on the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court’s Parenting Coordination Program.
“The concept began to be developed in the ‘90s nationally but is new to Ohio,” said Ergun. “It is an alternative dispute resolution process for high conflict cases. The court appoints a parenting coordinator to help divorced parents handle disputes so they do not have to continually return to court.
“As a judicial hearing officer, I have seen the damage that can occur when parents use the legal system to solve their problems. Each time they return to court it puts the child right in the middle of their conflict.
“The coordinator employs a variety of skills to resolve the issues at hand, thereby helping to avoid a lawsuit.”
As part of her research project, Ergun looked at whether the program helps to reduce conflicts and litigation. She said according to her findings, the answer in both cases is ‘yes.’
“My conclusion was that it is very promising,” she said. “It has a lot of value in being able to provide more prompt resolutions to problems than coming to court.
“This is very important especially if the problem is time sensitive,” said Ergun. “For example, if the parents are fighting over who gets the child for winter break and winter break is next week, the court cannot resolve the problem in time.
“Eliminating a return to court also helps to cut down on costs, so it appears to be a cost effective way to assist families.”
Deborah Smith, knowledge and information services senior analyst at the National Center for State Courts, oversaw Ergun’s research.
“I first met Magistrate Ergun in June of 2015,” said Smith. “When she told me about her project I thought she was being overly ambitious but she totally pulled it off.
“It entailed surveying all the parties that were involved in the program, including the parents, litigators, litigants, their attorneys and the actual parenting coordinators. She analyzed all the data, which must have meant working until all hours of the night to get it done.”
Smith said the use of this program helps to keep the court’s docket flowing.
“A high conflict case can slow the entire system down and takes its toll on families,” said Smith.
She said one of the benefits of the ICM Fellows Program is that it allows court officials to meet and network with others across the country, sharing knowledge and comparing notes about what can be done to improve the courts in a person’s specific state.
“The parenting coordinator program has the ability to have a national impact and Magistrate Ergun was extremely passionate about it,” said Smith.
Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Judge Diane M. Palos said the magistrate’s dedication to the program was not a surprise.
“Magistrate Ergun takes on all types of challenges at the court,” said Judge Palos. “She has worked on all the different dockets and is always looking to learn new techniques.”
The two have known one another since law school and have worked together at the court for years.
“She is always looking at how to improve her skills,” said Judge Palos. “She wanted to bring back programs and ideas for the court.
“Not a lot of people become fellows since the program requires a major financial and personal time commitment,” said Judge Palos. “There aren’t many people willing to put in a full day’s work and then sit down and do more work.
“Her efforts are a testament to her dedication to the court and the families who come through it.”