Welcome to Forum 360 where we have a global outlook from a local view.

I'm your host, Leia’ Love and today I am so excited.

We are going to be talking about life behind the gavel with Judge Jen Towel Thank you so much for joining us today.

- Thank you for inviting me.

I'm so happy to be here.

- So tell us, where are you a judge at and a little bit of your background?

- Absolutely.

Right now, I am one of ten general division judges at the Summit County Court of Common Pleas.

We're located downtown, and we handle high level felonies, as well as civil matters that are $15,000 or more.

And my background started with, I went to college at Miami of Ohio, and then I attended law school at The Ohio State University.

MoritzCollege of Law.

And while I was about to enter my third year of law school, I was sworn in to become an officer in the United States Navy JAG.

And after completing law school and taking the bar exam, I then went to Officer school and JAG school, and I served as a JAG officer in Washington, DC before moving to Akron.

- Oh my gosh, you’ve done a lot.

- Congratulations.

- Thank you.

- and thank you for all of your service.

- Of course, happy to.

- I thought it would be really interesting.

I had the opportunity to come in and watch you in court, and I just thought, “man, this is a perspective we don't always get to see and understand as community members.” So we're going to get a full background view of what life is like, for a judge.

So can you tell me, the educational process to become a judge, let's say a young person, the youth is watching, and they want to know what that process looks like to get where you are.

- Absolutely.

And, you know, part of what I like to do is also mentor young women.

We need more women in the field of law.

And so if there are any young people, I always encourage them to reach out to my office.

And I mentored about ten young women this summer who are either in high school or college and are interested in going to law school just because a lot of people don't get to visit the court system, they might be intimidated by it.

A lot of people are afraid to come in.

But as I tell everyone, you know, we work for you.

We work for the citizens of Summit County.

And my courtroom really belongs to the citizens of Summit County.

So people are always welcome in.

Now to become a lawyer then a judge, You know, you have to do your undergraduate work, then go to law school and, you know, then start by being a practicing attorney.

- Okay.

I became a magistrate, after I practiced for a number of years, almost 17 or 18 years as a lawyer.

Then I became a magistrate at the Akron Municipal Court, and I served there for about two and a half years before I had the opportunity to run for and be elected as a judge.

- Okay, so once you’re elected as a judge, do you have to do, I know for my industry, we have to do continuing education.

Is there a certain type of education or training that you have to do after?

- Absolutely.

They're called continuing legal education courses.

- Okay.

- And for attorneys, I believe that it requires 20 hours per year, every two years for judges and magistrates, It's double.

- Okay.

- So every two years you have to earn 40 hours.

And I actually teach some of those as well as take them.

- Okay.

- That's awesome.

Alright, So how do you stay informed about alternative sentencing options and their effectiveness?

- That's a great question.

That's part of our training, is actually when you become a judge, they send you to what we call “baby judge school.” And all of the judges across the state of Ohio go to Columbus for a two part training session, which was really neat because you get to meet people from all over the state and hear about what their courts are doing.

And then once you become a judge, we learn part of our training is sentencing and different alternatives.

And we have a number of diversion programs.

We have diversion programs for individuals who are veterans.

We have Valor Court.

We have an intervention program called “Intervention in Lieu of Conviction.” And this is for individuals who haven't had any prior high level felonies and maybe have a drug offense or Something was connected to mental health.

And this allows them to go into intervention and if they successfully complete it, their case can be dismissed and their record can be sealed.

- Okay.

- And so those are continually evolving.

And it's something that we talk to our colleagues about.

We also talk to different, resources in the community.

C-H-C, we talked to Oriana House - What’s C-H-C?

- community health, services.

- Okay.

- All of the different programs we are, you know, we're always going to trainings to conferences.

And that's something we're always looking at.

- Okay.

It's good to know.

So how would you define judicial temperament and why is that important?

- Absolutely.

So judicial temperament, it can be good or bad.

- Okay.

- And it's very important.

Especially, I believe it's a way of showing respect to all of the individuals that come before me.

And judicial temperament is how you are able to deal with things you know, in real time as they happen.

A lot of things happen without you know, knowing it's not rehearsed.

You know, these are real people.

These are their lives.

You have victims.

Usually someone's day in court is often one of the worst days of their life.

And having a good judicial temperament, in my opinion, means that you're respectful, you're a good listener.

You're calm, you're able to, take a little abuse, a little insult without taking it personally.

I really try not to take anything people say too personally because I know they're not at their best.

They're often scared, worried, stressed out.

So I think it's really important to have that good judicial temperament and to just be able to be calm under pretty stressful circumstances.

- So how do you stay impartial during a judging session?

- Sure.

One of the things that we are trained on is called “implicit bias.” And those are biases that every single person possesses.

We all come to our jobs, you know, to the world with our own experiences, which can often kind of sculpt those biases we may not even know we have.

So that's one of the trainings that we do, as continuing education is learning what implicit biases we might have and not know and how to deal with those.

And, you know, that's something that you can continue to grow from.

And it's really so individual.

That's what's really interesting about it.

- So if somebody has a issue where they feel like a judge has not been impartial, what would their steps be that they could do to that?

- Sure.

You know, they have options to appeal decisions.

They have options to request a new judge.

Judges are, we take an oath to be fair and impartial and unbiased.

And that's really the most important thing you can do is to go into every case with an open mind.

And, you know I try not to know really anything before I see someone for the first time.

And I just wait until that moment in court and really try to be open minded to to keep that impartiality.

And you really have to put aside sometimes your own experiences or, you know, I've had my wallet stolen before, but when I have someone who is charged with theft or burglary in front of me, you know I have to put that aside.

- Right.

- And really not think about what happened to me.

I need to look at each case with fresh eyes, and it's something you have to continually remind yourself.

- How do you feel like you were able to develop that over time?

Like what was the hardest part of that?

- It's kind of an evolving process.

And, I feel like I'm a pretty open minded person.

I feel like I'm a very good listener.

It's funny, when I go to talk, you know, I say, what people don't know is judges actually listen more than they talk.

You know, throughout a trial, the prosecution talks, the witnesses talk, the defense attorneys talk.

But the judge mostly listens until they have to talk.

And so I've just, I feel like I've always been a really good listener.

And, I'm very open minded.

I've lived in a lot of different places.

I've tried to expose myself to a lot of different ways of life, different ways of thinking.

And for me personally, I feel like that's helped me to be open minded and able to listen and consider each person as an individual.

- I love the fact when people anybody you know, in any position, when you get out and you explore other cultures and communities and see how people are, you have that tolerance and understanding and can be more respectful and more understanding when things are going on.

So, tell me, how do you handle situations where the law is ambiguous or the precedent is not clear?

- That's a great question.

This actually happens a lot.

It's usually more in our civil cases.

It's very interesting.

Criminal matters will often, they can be similar.

Because there's just certain elements of each crime that the state has to prove.

Whereas every civil case, it's almost like a unique snowflake or a thumbprint because the facts are just a little bit different.

You know, it might be a medical malpractice case, but you're dealing with a different diagnosis, a different physician, a different patient.

So it's really interesting.

Those are the cases where there can often be ambiguities and what you have to do, what I do, I work in tandem with my magistrate, who's my judicial attorney, and we both do a lot of research, and we look at what our local precedent is, what the ninth district does.

And when we need to, we can go outside that and look at other courts in Ohio and then a lot of times for me, I need to read through everything.

And then I say, “I like to let it simmer.” You know, I just need it to process through my mind and really think about it because that's, you know, one of the great privileges of being a judge is you're tasked with making important decisions that affect people's lives.

And I take that very seriously.

And I try not to do it in a rush or in a hurry, but in a very thoughtful way.

So we really, you know, that is something I have to do sometimes is find the ambiguity and make a decision based on my research.

And on that case.

- How long could that time frame be?

Is it like a day versus a week or a month?

- It could be any of those.

- Okay.

- Our civil cases tend to be longer.

- Okay.

- Because criminal cases, a defendant has a right to be brought to trial within 270 days.

- Okay.

- So the clock moves much quicker.

- Okay.

- A civil case can be more extended.

There's often requests for continuances while they're negotiating or discovery is ongoing.

So it really depends and it also depends on how involved.

If it's a multimillion dollar civil case that's going to take longer.

That's going to require more research and more thoughtfulness, you know?

If it's a much smaller amount, it might not be as complex.

So it's really a case by case basis.

It could be a day, an hour.

It could be a month.

- Okay.

Well, if you are just tuning in, we are talking to Judge Jen Towell.

We're talking about life behind the gavel and understanding what life is like with the judge.

All right.

So, what are some key challenges that you have when managing a jury?

- That's a great question.

So the problem with juries is a lot of people don't want to be there.

- Right.

- And we all recognize, it represents some kind of inconvenience, right?

Whether you're a parent, whether you're a caregiver, whether you're an employer or an employee, there's some kind of inconvenience.

You're missing something in your life.

You're having to reschedule, cancel, change your plans.

So you really have to work really hard to acknowledge that and to thank juries for that.

I recognize that they may be uncomfortable.

They may be intimidated.

Maybe they've been in court before and they might be stressed out by their prior experiences.

So I really work hard to make them feel comfortable, to make them feel heard.

And I love juries.

I think they're one of the most important parts of the trial system in our country.

You know, our country.

I say we have two things that separate us from other countries.

That's the ballot box and the jury box.

And you have a right to be tried by a jury of your peers, which is absolutely incredible.

And jury service, I always tell my juries they're basically the most important part of any trial.

You know, their input, their attention, their time is just so incredibly important to making sure that people's rights are protected.

And, picking a jury takes a while and I try to make them feel comfortable because there's a lot of personal questions asked during the voir dire, which is the part where the attorneys ask them questions.

I ask them questions, and it's really trying to make them feel like it's okay.

And, you know, if they need something, I'm there.

So we work really hard to make our juries feel safe, comfortable and appreciated.

- Well, that's good to know.

Is there anything that you take step wise to help the jury not have the implicit bias?

So that's actually part of the voir dire process.

Voir dire is French, “to see and to speak.” It is the one time when the jury gets to speak.

- Okay.

And so if one of the attorneys ask them a question and it sounds like they might have a bias or a prejudice, what we do is ask more questions and I'll say, you know, “in spite of your prior experiences in court, do you feel that you could be fair and unbiased?” and some people will say they can't, and that's a perfectly acceptable answer.

You know, you really just want honesty.

And you work to try to rehab some jurors, but some people will just say, I just can't do that.

And so it's a really interesting process.

- Okay.

So how are cases prioritized and why does it take longer for some and a shorter time for others?

- Absolutely.

That's a great question.

So as I kind of said it earlier, there's ten general division judges.

We each usually carry a civil docket of almost 300 cases, and then anywhere of close to 200 criminal cases at any given time.

So we each have a very extensive docket.

And the criminal cases, if someone's in custody, those cases are prioritized.

- Okay.

- Because they have to be brought to trial within a certain amount of time.

- Okay.

- Unless they waive their right to a speedy trial.

- Okay.

- So that's one way.

So if we have four trials scheduled, we look at the date, what's the oldest case, who's in custody.

And we go from there.

- Okay.

That's good to know.

- And you know, sometimes civil litigants get frustrated because they feel like the criminal trials take precedence.

And, you know, that's a fine balance.

And we work really hard to be responsive.

And, you know, I work with my staff to be respectful, responsive so that people don't feel like they're just kind of lingering out there.

- So we've had the trial and now it's at sentencing.

What factors are most important that you consider when you are handing out your sentence?

- So if we're talking about a criminal case, there's many factors that we're required to consider as a judge.

And usually I'll order a pre-sentence investigation.

And that is performed by pretrial.

And they will interview, the victim or victims.

They will interview the defendant and they'll really pull together information for me.

I look at, has this person, do they have a long criminal history?

Do they have similar crimes?

Are the crimes they are committing getting more serious?

So you need to look at all of those factors.

I'll also, you know, look at their age and look at the impact it had on the victim.

You know, sentencing someone who's been convicted of murder is very different than sentencing someone who's been convicted of possessing drugs.

So there's so many factors that go into it, and it's truly one of the most difficult parts of the job, because any time you're, taking someone's liberty away, - Yeah?

- It's very serious, and I take that very seriously.

Then you also are looking at how are the victim's lives impacted.

- So with the victim's statement we'll say, is that always read or is that only in certain cases that gets to get heard?

- So what happens is, Ohio has a law called Marsy's law.

- Okay.

- And that was put into effect to help protect victim’s rights.

And that does allow for victims to have input that they provide to the state.

And then during sentencing, victims do have a right to make a statement if they want to.

I've had very young victims who sometimes they will write out a statement and I'll read it into the record, you know, really just depends on that person.

It can be very difficult for someone to go into court and talk about these things that have happened to them or to a loved one, and it can be very emotional.

So it's a very hard part of the process.

- Yeah.

Okay, speaking of that, I imagine you see and hear a lot of different things and some things that are probably we just would never know, you know, how do you find the balance or how do you deal with and cope with a lot of that and still maintain sanity?

So to say?

- It's a great question.

We just had our court retreat and I brought in a speaker.

A doctor who talks about secondary trauma, and I was noticing that both our juries, our employees, you know, the individuals that sit in court and hear these, you know, the testimony, they see some gruesome pictures or hear horrible things that happened to other people.

And I was really interested in how that affects everyone.

And how do we cope with that in a way that's healthy?

And, how do we deal with that stress?

So we had this wonderful doctor, my friend Dr. Henschen, come in.

He was an ER doctor and he came in and gave us a training on coping with that secondary trauma and how to deal with that.

For me personally, I love to work out.

That's one of my outlets that I love to do.

I used to be a spinning instructor, so I love to spin.

I also have a nice drive to get home.

It's about 20 minutes, so I'll make some phone calls to friends or listen to music.

I have a very deep faith, you know, I'll go to church on the weekends and spend time with my family, and I really work hard to not bring that home.

We have younger kids, so there's a lot of things that happen at work that I can't really talk about at home.

And another great way is my colleagues.

There's ten women judges, and I feel very fortunate that I could pick up the phone at any time and call someone and say, “hey, you know, I had a really tough day today.

We had a sentencing or we had a murder trial.” and they've all been there.

And that's been a really wonderful way to kind of learn how to cope with it and bounce ideas off of.

But it's definitely something I feel like if you're cognizant of it and aware that's half the battle.

Just knowing that that stress is there.

- Well, God bless you and that I will keep you in prayer.

- I appreciate that.

It is definitely, and it's something that I'm actually working with Judge Baker Ross, we want to start a secondary trauma response team to support our staff because they're exposed to so much.

And even with our juries now, we now have resources.

I've had three murder trials already this year, and I talk to my juries afterwards.

And I say, if you're not able to sleep, if you're feeling stressed out, here's a free phone number.

of someone you can call and talk to.

You don't have to give your name, but we can't just expose people to this and not expect them, you know, to have kind of the aftershocks of it.

- Yeah.

And, you know, that really make me think about it, because I had a client who was telling me, I think she said it was like a either three week.

It was a longer extended period, that she was watching multiple different things and trials and she was just like, I can't fathom half of this stuff that has been going on in this city.

And she's like, “it is really affecting me.” So, I mean, you just don't necessarily think about that, especially if you're just like, oh, I just have jury duty real quick.

There's just a day or two.

- Yes.

- and we're just gone.

But yeah, for some of those cases, I'm like, I could imagine that really could stick with you for a long time.

- And we unfortunately have a lot of violence and like you said, people come in and they're not expecting to hear testimony about someone who was murdered or to hear testimony from the coroner, you know, or hear testimony from someone's mom whose child was killed.

It can be a lot.

- Yeah.

- And I feel like as long as we keep the conversations open, and as long as we acknowledge it too, that's really important.

- Okay.

So judicial release, what is that and how do you decide how that process goes?

- That's another great question.

I always say, two of the hardest parts of being a judge, one is sentencing.

It's a very serious process.

The other is judicial release, and judicial release is when someone who's been sentenced to prison, once they're statutorily eligible, they can file for judicial release.

And what they could do is say, “you know, I was sentenced to this period of time.

I've served this long.

This is what I've done to rehabilitate myself while I've been in prison.

And this is why I think I should be released early.” And this is another situation where we have a two step process.

If they get approved come to the second part, you know, at that point the state may present a victim who maybe as opposed to it, is maybe still fearful.

So they'll come in and testify, the defendant might testify that they've taken classes, that they haven't gotten any infractions while they've been in.

And it's a balancing act.

It's very difficult.

I've had successful judicial releases and I've had judicial releases that weren't successful.

- That’s what I was gonna ask.

- Yeah.

And there's a wonderful program called TRY.

Truly Reaching You.

And Perry Clark and his team, they work to help train and help prepare men who are coming out of prison for what life is like now.

Because whether you've been gone two, four, six years, the world changes very rapidly as we all know.

And trying to figure out what to do next.

And maybe they don't have training or maybe they don't have clothing.

And his program is wonderful because it helps give individuals housing, training and helps them really prepare to reenter society, which is super important.

I just had a young man who I let out on judicial release, and I found out he'd gotten one job, and now he's actually been promoted to another job.

And that's one of the success stories.

And when you hear that, you’re just so happy because you don’t want to see anyone broken.

- Yeah.

- We all deserve a second chance.

And then I had another judicial release where I really believed in this individual.

And his family came to court and they said they were going to support him.

He had a place to live.

And then, unfortunately, he kind of fell back in the wrong ways, the wrong crowd.

And it's hard to untrain yourself if that was what you were used to.

And so, you know, it could go either way.

I don't take it personal.

You know, these are their individual struggles, and it's definitely difficult.

It takes a lot of time.

And again, that thought, reading through everything, letting it sit and being very purposeful about it.

- Okay.

In our last few minutes, if you could leave the community, and I have so many more questions I want to ask.

- Maybe we need a part two.

- I know right.

If you could leave them with something, so that people could be more thoughtful, mindful about, how they treat people with rehabilitation, with people in the justice system going into the courts.

Just anything that you would like to leave them with?

- Absolutely.

You know, so many of the individuals I see in court, I mean, a very high percentage to have a substance use disorder.

Whether it's alcohol or drugs.

Another very large percentage have a mental health situation.

And so many people maybe didn't come from the best circumstance.

They may not have had the opportunities that you or I have had.

They may not have had a mother or a father or both parents or someone who believed in them, or was maybe even able to give them or cheer them on.

You know, so many people I see have never been told you can do better.

There's more for you in this life.

And I really try hard to build the people up who are in front of me, because so many are broken down.

And I think that's something we have to remember.

You know, these are all humans.

They’re someone’s son or daughter.

They might be someone's brother or sister, mother or father, and they don't want to be there.

You know, we just need to recognize that we owe it to our fellow brothers and sisters to give them another chance to help them be a successful part of society, because that's really what they want to.

No one wants to be in front of me unless it's a wedding.

I love to perform weddings.

That's the best part of the job.

But, you know, we really just need to recognize that empathy.

And, you know, and people do need to be held accountable.

Absolutely.

But we also need to put into system the opportunities to give people a second, third chance to help make their lives better.

- Thank you so much for your wise wisdom and information today.

We really appreciate it and I hope you all got to understand a little bit more what life is like behind the gavel.

I'm your host, Leia’ Love.

This is Forum 360.

We have a global outlook from a local view.

Thank you and have a great week.

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