Login | April 18, 2024
Stow law director is new clerk of courts
RICHARD WEINER
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 22, 2019
Amber Zibritoski, who has been Stowe law director since 2015, has been sworn in as the new Stow Municipal Court clerk. She takes the place of Diana Colavecchio, who has moved on to become the director of community development for the city of Cuyahoga Falls.
Zibritoski said she expects her transition to her new position to be relatively smooth.
“I know everybody in the court from my time as law director,” she said. “As city attorney, the clerk’s office was my client.”
She also said that, as prosecutor, she is familiar with the operations of law enforcement in the court’s jurisdiction and has worked with the judges and other parties to develop the Summit County Criminal Justice Information System (SCCJIS).
“My goal is to take it to the next level,” she said.
At the age of 34, Zibritoski became the youngest clerk of courts in the history of the court.
Colavecchio was strongly behind the appointment.
“I can think of no one more uniquely qualified to be my successor,” said the former clerk. ”Amber brings an even higher skill set to the position than I did when I became clerk. Although we both have a law degree and a background in public service, Amber has actually represented the Stow Municipal Court judges, myself as clerk and our employees, as well as has prosecuted cases in the court on behalf of Stow and other jurisdictions. She knows how the court works.”
And indeed Zibritoski emphasized her close association with the court when asked about how she would fare in her new post.
The Hudson native is a graduate of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. She lives in Stow. She was appointed under statute to the office by the Summit County Democratic Party Central Committee and will have to run for the position in the election in November by law to serve the remainder of the term of office. That term expires on Dec. 31, 2021.
Zibrotoski said that four other people have filed to run for the office—one Republican, Jeff Iula, and three independents—Bradford Chapman, a law student at The University of Akron, Traci Cirullo, who is the bailiff for Stow Municipal Court judge Lisa Coates and Steve Stahl, the former Munroe Falls police chief and city council member.
Stow Mayor John Pribonic named assistant law director Brendan Mackin as interim law director, but Mackin will not be able to run for the seat in the fall election because he is not a resident of the city, according to the mayor.
Zibritoski said that her familiarity with the office allows her to hit the ground running. She also knows how the court operates.
“I know all of the processes, and the clerk’s office is very process-oriented,” said Zibritoski. “I get how it all fits together—finance, legal restraints, debt service—all of it. I have a good handle on the office, but my goal is to take it to the next level.”
That includes her knowledge of the CourtView Justice Solutions case management and the other technologies used by the court.
“The civil side is completely paperless, except for a couple of small instances that require a paper filing,” she said.
On the criminal side, she said, there is “still work to be done, but it is getting there.”
As city attorney, she was legal chair of, and led negotiations for, the regional Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) law enforcement system.
A few of the smaller municipalities in the court’s jurisdiction are still not tied into SCCJIS, so that is an ongoing project, said Zibritoski. She is interested in looking at prosecution case management software with all of the jurisdiction’s municipalities.
She said she is also excited about the potential advent of e-ticketing in the jurisdiction.
“The goal is for all the municipalities and the county to be able to talk to one another,” said Zibritoski.
Stow Municipal Court’s jurisdiction includes 16 municipalities in the northern part of Summit County: Stow, Cuyahoga Falls, Tallmadge, Hudson, Boston Heights, Boston Township, Macedonia, Munroe Falls, Northfield, Northfield Center, Peninsula, Reminderville, Sagamore Hills, Silver Lake, Twinsburg and Twinsburg Township.
Zibritoski is someone who has spent virtually her entire law career in public service, and she said that she would not have it any other way.
“I like public sector work,” she said. “It gives my career a purpose. Working for the public is a privilege because you always represent the interests of the people and governmental entities. I am excited to be here.”