At the end of May, a judge not named Michael Ward or L. Alan Goldsberry will oversee Athens County Court of Commons Pleas for the first time in 20 years.
Gov. John Kasich’s office announced the appointment of George McCarthy, local attorney at Mollica, Gall, Sloan, Sillery & McCarthy Co., LPA, as Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge on Monday, five months after Ward vacated the position upon his retirement.
McCarthy, who will take office May 28, said his experience with the firm, paired with his time as Athens City Prosecutor, has given him a valuable perspective he will bring to the bench.
“One of the reasons I had left the city prosecutor’s office in the first place was that I had been in front of judges with prosecutorial experience but not much civil experience,” McCarthy said. “Judges that have a balance of prosecutorial and civil experience are generally impressive.”
McCarthy’s involvement outside of the courtroom — as a founder and current board member of Athens Sandlot Baseball and a volunteer fire fighter for Richland Area Fire Department — was particularly remarkable, said Pete Couladis, president of Athens County Republican Party.
“(McCarthy) is very highly thought of in the community,” Couladis said. “He is also a very good attorney with experience across many theatres.”
McCarthy and Randall Galbraith applied for the judgeship about a month after Ward announced his retirement at the end of 2012. McCarthy was recommended to the governor by the Athens County Republican Party Executive and Central Committee, Couladis said.
In order to retain the seat for the unexpired term, which ends Dec. 31, 2016, McCarthy must run for election in November 2014, according to a news release from the governor’s office.
With the election more than a year in the future, though, McCarthy said he isn’t too concerned about retaining the judgeship, despite his Republican background.
“I think I have a lot of support from the Democratic side,” he said. “That’s why I was agreeable to apply in the first place, because without that support it’s not worthwhile.”
The Athens County Court of Common Pleas judgeship was one of an estimated 20 vacancies in Ohio this year, partly due to changes made to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, said Megan Fitzmartin, Deputy Director of Boards and Commissions at the governor’s office, in a previous Post article.
There are still about 10 more vacancies for Gov. Kasich to fill throughout the state, said Rob Nichols, the governor’s press secretary.
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