A former
Ohio House member will take the bench on March 23 after his appointment today
by Gov. John Kasich to the Bedford Municipal Court.
Jeffrey L. Dean of Chagrin Falls must
win in the November 2015 general election to retain the seat for the full term
commencing Jan. 1, 2016. Dean replaces former Judge Harry J. Jacob III, who resigned in October after his criminal conviction.
Dean’s previous experience includes
serving as the executive director and general counsel of the International
Engineering Society and Education Foundation and executive director of the
Chagrin Valley Chamber of Commerce and Education Foundation. He is currently an
attorney and counselor at law in private practice.
He was a member of the 114th General
Assembly and the State Board of Education. He is president of the Board of
Trustees for the Valley Art Center.
Former Cleveland magistrate Michelle Paris of Moreland Hills and Deborah M. Turner of Solon, currently assistant law director for Bedford Heights, have each announced their intent to run for the seat, which has been vacant since December 2013, when the Ohio Supreme Court suspended Judge Jacob after his indictment on numerous felony charges. Jacob was found guilty of several misdemeanor charges in September, including falsification of court records and having sex with prostitutes.
Jacob resigned from the bench the following month, just before he was sentenced to 60 days in jail and six months house arrest.
The Bedford Municipal Court has jurisdiction over cases arising in Bedford, Bedford Heights, Bentleyville, Chagrin Falls, Chagrin Falls Township, Glenwillow, Highland Hills, Moreland Hills, North Randall, Oakwood, Orange, Solon, Warrensville Heights, and Woodmere.
