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Former Youngstown Muni judge receives prestigious honor
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: November 29, 2018
When Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Robert Milich retired from the bench at the end of 2017, he spent time with his wife Kay, completed a few tasks around his home and worked on his Corvettes.
But it didn’t take long for the U.S. Air Force veteran to return to his mission of assisting veterans. In fact, Judge Milich has spent more than 35 years working to improve the lives of Mahoning County veterans. His crowning achievement came in 2011 when he unveiled a misdemeanor veterans treatment court docket in Youngstown Municipal Court, the second honor court in Ohio.
Judge Milich has received a number of post-military awards and honors over the years, but none quite as prestigious as what occurred in early November when he became one of 20 veterans to be inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame.
“When I received the call from the director of veterans services informing me that I had been selected, I was extremely surprised and very honored,” said Judge Milich.
The ceremony took place on Nov. 8 at the Radiant Life Church in Dublin. The night before the inductees, their families and the nominators attended a dinner at the Columbus Marriott Northwest.
“It was quite humbling to be chosen to be part of this amazing group,” said Judge Milich, 76. “I would not have been able to achieve all that I have without the assistance of many other people.”
Retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Roderick A. Hosler nominated Judge Milich.
“I have known Judge Milich for almost 20 years,” said Hosler. “We belong to several military and veterans organizations and I sat in on his veterans treatment court on several occasions.
“He is an outstanding judge with a keen legal mind,” said Hosler. “His treatment court became a model for other municipal treatment courts throughout the state. He has been very successful in helping many veterans in Mahoning County and he continues to do whatever he can to assist veterans.”
Born and raised in Youngstown, Judge Milich started working as a mechanic in the Youngstown Water Department Garage in 1960 after graduating from Woodrow Wilson High School.
Judge Milich received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Youngstown State University. He began law school at The Ohio State University but said the Vietnam War motivated him to put his studies on hold and join the U.S. Air Force.
He served active duty as a logistics officer at Hill Air Force Base in Utah from 1967 through 1970 and in military intelligence in Germany from 1970 to 1971.
While at Hill Air Force Base, he obtained a master’s degree in industrial relations from the University of Utah School of Business.
From 1972 to 1995, he was a member of the U.S. Air Force Reserve’s 910th Airlift Wing in Vienna, Ohio. He later served as administrator to the medical squadron, doing active duty in 1991 during Desert Storm. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 1995.
Judge Milich completed his juris doctor at The University of Akron School of Law in 1978. He began his legal career at the Youngstown Law Department in 1980 as first assistant and later deputy director of law. From 1994 to 1997, he served as law director, before retiring for the second time.
He began serving as a Youngstown Municipal Court judge in 1998, after being appointed by Gov. George Voinovich to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former Judge Patrick Kerrigan.
Years later he learned about a veterans treatment court docket in Buffalo, New York.
“It started in 2008 and was the first one in the country,” said Judge Milich.
He said he was intrigued and wanted to create a docket in Youngstown, especially after a probation officer shared with him that his son had experienced a number of problems after completing a tour in the Middle East.
To get the idea off the ground, Judge Milich enlisted the assistance of Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Lundberg Stratton (now retired), numerous social agencies and other volunteers.
“Justice Stratton was able to get us a grant to send a team from the court to Buffalo to get trained,” he said.
“The mission of the veterans treatment court docket is to deal with the various issues that veterans in the criminal justice system have and to restore them to being productive citizens,” said Judge Milich. “With the assistance of volunteer mentors, who are veterans, we address all of the needs of our veterans--education, housing, employment, addiction, medical and family issues.”
Since it began in 2011, more than 45 veterans have graduated.
“Those who have graduated have not committed any additional crimes,” said Judge Milich.
In 2016 the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas unveiled its honor court, which serves veterans charged with low-level, nonviolent felonies.
Judge Milich worked with former Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge Shirley Christian to get the veterans treatment court docket up and running.
Most recently Judge Milich joined hands with Jon Kolb, the founder and executive director of the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit organization Adventures in Training with a Purpose.
The organization runs exercise and training programs designed to improve the quality of life for veterans, at-risk youth and adults and children with chronic illnesses.
The veterans program is now available at the YMCA in downtown Youngstown.
“Judge Milich connected us to local judges and others who assisted us in starting a program in Youngstown,” said Kolb, a former offensive lineman, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers for 13 seasons. “We believe there is definitely a need out there in the community, but without Judge Milich’s help we would not be able to fill it.”
“The fact that Jon played with the Steelers for so long is motivational for the veterans in the program and it gets their attention because Jon is a fellow warrior,” said Judge Milich.
Kolb, who is also a kinesiology instructor at Youngstown State University, said Judge Milich adheres to the slogan, “Once a Marine, Always a Marine.”
“He may no longer be in the military or on the bench but his mindset has not changed. He wants to do whatever he can to help veterans,” said Kolb.
“I belong to just about every veterans organization there is,” said Judge Milich. “I try to do whatever I can to help out.
“While much has been accomplished it is not the time to rest on our laurels,” he said. “There are an estimated two million troops rotating through the Middle East and when they get home they are going to need our assistance.”