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Judge Judy Hunter steps off the common pleas bench
BENJAMIN WHITE
Associate Editor
Published: July 31, 2013
As July winds to an end, today marks the last day of Judge Judy Hunter’s 16 years of wearing the black robe. After a decade at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, Judge Hunter decided to retire, pressed by a state law preventing anyone over the age of 70 from running for judge.
“My decision to retire was directed and sealed by the voters failing to approve the constitutional amendment,” said Judge Hunter, 72, referring to Issue 1 on 2011’s Ohio ballots, which would have raised the age cutoff from 70 to 75.
Though she said she would love to remain on the bench (which she can still do as a visiting judge), Judge Hunter said she would be more than happy to spend the time with family and improve her golf game, especially after several recent time-consuming and high profile trials.
Last year, Judge Hunter freed former Akron police Capt. Douglas Prade after he spent 15 years in prison for the 1997 murder of his wife. With fresh and controversial DNA evidence that seemingly excluded Prade from the crime scene, she immediately granted postconviction relief.
“Some of my lengthiest opinions have been on DNA,” she said. “Each one was very challenging legally.”
Judge Hunter, who served as administrative judge in 2011 and 2012, also decided the high-profile Denny Ross retrial last year, a “very complicated, challenging case to oversee.” She sentenced Ross to life in prison for the 1999 murder of Hannah Hill.
“I’ve had my share of high-profile cases, and I loved the challenge of them, quite frankly,” Judge Hunter said.
Before her years on the common pleas bench, Judge Hunter served for six years as a judge at the Summit County Juvenile Court, where she spearheaded both the drug court and mediation program, two groundbreaking programs.
The award-winning drug court, which still operates under Judge Linda Teodosio, began when such programs were still a rarity, especially in juvenile courts.
“It was such a huge effort to get that going,” Judge Hunter said. “We were at the forefront. We were forward-looking in a lot of ways.”
She also started the juvenile court’s mediation program, which employed novel ideas like using arbitrators from the Better Business Bureau.
“That was rewarding to work out. It was not just getting restitution paid, but getting a decent solution for all involved,” Judge Hunter said.
For the past three years, Judge Hunter has remained involved in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas Reentry Court, where she oversees a docket of 15-30 offenders at a time.
Judge Hunter grew up on a farm with six siblings and displayed an early knack for writing and analysis. At Shelby High School before her graduation in 1959, Judge Hunter said she performed well on a standardized aptitude test.
“The guidance counselor looked at my aptitude tests and said, ‘Hmm, you would make a fine lawyer or even a judge,’” she said.
“He ended up recommending me for secretarial science – this shows the times – and I went home in tears.”
After picking another of the then-acceptable career tracks for women, Judge Hunter began teaching second grade. After staying home to raise her son Alex, she yearned for a more stimulating and rewarding career.
“I knew I wanted to do something beyond being a homemaker and community activist,” she said.
One day, she picked up an LSAT prep book while browsing at a bookstore and found the material fascinating and tuned toward her strengths. Before long, she graduated from The University of Akron School of Law and opened a solo practice.
Though American mores continued to evolve, Judge Hunter found herself pigeonholed in family practice.
“Individuals are more willing to trust women to handle family matters than perhaps business, tax and that sort of thing,” she said.
“My interest or my inclination was to try and find the resolution, so I started looking at the judiciary,” she said. “It became clear to me that my personality would be better suited to work in the judiciary than as an advocate.”
Judge Hunter said her experience of teaching young children proved valuable on the bench.
“I do a lot of teaching along the way,” she said. “I like to take advantage of the opportunity to add comments that may teach others that might be in the audience. I think that’s one way that other attorneys learn.”
“Since I’ve been in practice, attorneys are less formal, and there’s somewhat of a more casual air, I think, from the time I first started to practice,” she said.
“If I had to say one thing in the field that’s underrated, it’s listening.”
Judge Hunter made it clear to Gov. John Kasich, who will appoint her replacement, that she remains willing to oversee her current caseload during the transition and return as a visiting judge.
Either way, she plans to devote more time to community service. The past president of the board of trustees of Goodwill Industries of Akron, Judge Hunter said she hopes to devote more time to the Battered Women’s Shelter of Summit and Medina Counties.
After a six-month wait for Kasich to fill current Probate Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer’s void on the common pleas bench, the court operated with full offices for less than four weeks.