Jennifer McTernan

Question 1

List your judicial experience (courts and years)

I am a criminal defense attorney with a decade in practice since graduating from Cleveland State University College of Law and being admitted to the Ohio bar in 2013. Since then, I have also been admitted to the Sixth Circuit Court of the U.S. Court of Appeals (2022), the Northern District of Ohio (2014), and the Southern District of Ohio (2022). I have my own solo firm and primarily practice criminal defense litigation, handling cases for both retained clients and assigned clients - those that are indigent and do not have the financial ability to hire an attorney. For the past decade, I have been in courtrooms through Northeast Ohio almost every day, handling a wide variety of cases ranging from low level misdemeanors to high level felonies to juvenile delinquency to appeals. This includes experience with both bench and jury trials in both Municipal and Common Pleas courts. Further, although I practice in courts throughout Northeast Ohio, the majority of my cases are in Common Pleas Courts at the Justice Center downtown where I seek to be judge.

Through my practice, I have frequently been a part of discussions with other attorneys, prosecutors, and judges to find creative and innovative solutions to adequately address the needs of a particular case in order to best achieve fairness and justice on a case by case basis. In other situations, however, I have observed missed opportunities that I would hope to address differently from the bench. Practicing criminal defense litigation out of an office in Cleveland's Buckeye neighborhood, I have had the chance to not just briefly interact with those that would appear in front of me, but actually get a chance to talk at length with my clients throughout my representation of them - actually get to know them, and learn about their histories, their families, their traumas - to fully come to understand what had to happen for them to be in this current position with me representing them.

I am also trained and qualified to handle cases on Cuyahoga's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities specialty docket, and have extensive firsthand experience both representing those on that docket and interacting with the mental health professionals, agencies, and liaisons that often work with that docket. From this experience, I frequently observe firsthand just how neccessary it is to get individuals access to services, not just in the resolution of their cases but in their everyday lives. I understand that perhaps the most effective deterrent to someone ending up back in court with a future case, is addressing the underlying causes and getting them access to services when appropriate.  Too often in my current practice, I encounter clients with obvious mental health and/or developmental disability issues that would likely benefit from services, but unfortunately have never previously been assessed or diagnosed, despite having previously been through the system.  A flaw in the current system is that although there are specific MHDD judges assigned  or specific MHDD qualified attorneys handling a case once an individual qualifies for the docket, prior to qualifying for the specialized docket, it is usually left to attorneys that do not require training or judges that may not be used to handling such cases to identify a potential issue and get the individual referred for the initial assessment that would allow for their potential transfer.  Thus, many individuals slip through the cracks and their mental health and/or developmental disability needs are not diagnosed or addressed.  Further, the MHDD docket only deals with the most serious mental health issues and there are still many lesser diagnoses such as PTSD, depression, bipolar disorder without psychotic features, etc. that an individual would still benefit from having addressed even if they do not qualify for the specialty docket.  As such, I recognize just how important and necessary it is for all attorneys and judges to be able to identify and adequately address these issues, and would continue to advocate for increased awareness of these issues from the bench.

Abbreviated Candidate Answers

---

Question 2

What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?

In addition to my legal work, I also make an effort to get involved with local communities. I have volunteered as a mentor with CSU Law Alumni Association's 1L mentoring program.  I have volunteered as a mock trial judge at a local middle school.  I have worked with R.H.E.M.A. Y.E.S., an organization that among other things seeks to provide contact and support to lower income youth who are attempting to obtain higher education goals, including helping to provide them with scholarship opportunities. I have also become involved with Values In Action, a foundation that among other things finds mentors such as myself to go to various schools throughout the county with more at-risk 11th and 12th grade students to have conversations with them to hopefully get them thinking about future opportunities after graduation, whether higher education, trade school, or employment.

I think it is so important for judges to be in the communities and to be accessible. As it is, the average person is unaware of how the judicial process works and the persons involved in the process. But, the average person is also far more likely to encounter a judge in their worst moments when they might also be the most distrustful of it. So, I think it is important for a judge to be involved in the communities they serve and seen outside the courtroom in more positive settings. This might also involve a judge getting into schools to educate kids on what exactly they do. I have previously participated in “Court in the Classroom” as an attorney and would hope to continue my involvement with that program from the bench.

A judge should not be so far removed from the people that would appear in front of them that they lose sight of the fact that the majority of those that appear in the court system are indigent and very financially limited, perhaps even homeless This creates a risk of that judge imposing sentences and conditions that are not feasible and set a person up to fail. Only with further discussions and awareness of someone’s circumstances can a judge best find creative and innovative solutions to adequately address the needs of a particular case in order to best achieve fairness and justice on a case by case basis. I have already been doing that through my practice for the past decade and would be prepared to continue to do that from the bench.

---

Question 3

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

Honestly, running for judge was not something I used to dream of doing.  I love my current job.  I love being able to advocate for others and lend my voice to those often appearing in court on their worst days to help explain what had to happen in their lives for them to now be in the position with me representing them.  Or to ask the necessary follow up questions that perhaps an officer failed to ask initially in order to seek a dismissal or not guilty at trial when perhaps someone was wrongfully accused.  Or to ensure that their right to be competently represented by an attorney is maintained even when perhaps they were rightfully charged.  The goal is always for fairness and justice above all else in a system that is not always the most fair and just.

Unfortunately, in recent years I found myself getting more and more frustrated with some of the judges that I practice in front of and the way they treat those that come into their courtrooms…not just the clients I represent but also the attorneys, court personnel, and anyone else that comes before them.  I became frustrated enough that I realized I had reached a turning point where I could either keep complaining behind the scenes to no avail or try to do something about it.  I know that at the very least, I can treat people with basic humanity in my courtroom.  I know that I can run a courtroom fairly and justly, while also running an efficient docket and respecting everyone’s time.  And, I know that this would allow me to be a part of the solution to fixing very real problems with our justice system.

Everyday I see firsthand the direct impact of these local judicial elections. Judges have so much power over those that appear in front of them and the decisions they make impact so many. When it comes to judges, qualifications and experience matter, and I am the most qualified candidate in my race. I am the only candidate in my primary with a decade of experience practicing and handling cases in the court we now seek to be judge, and given the very serious offenses often dealt with at the Justice Center, there is no substitute for that firsthand experience. I am also the only candidate in this race with criminal defense experience, specifically a decade of criminal defense litigation in the court that we now seek to be judge, which gives me a different perspective and mindfulness when handing down sentences or even making every day decisions that have the potential to impact the people that appear in front of you. I am also the only one in this race that is trained/qualified to represent those on Cuyahoga County's Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities ("MHDD") specialty docket, meaning that I am extremely familiar with the diagnoses, mental health professionals, mental health services/programming, etc. that are available and frequently observe firsthand just how necessary it is to get individuals access to services, not just in the resolution of their case, but in their everyday lives. And recently, I was recognized as the highest overall rated candidate in my race by Judge4Yourself.com.

Abbreviated Candidate Answers