Judge of the Court of the Common Pleas - Juvenile Division
Jeffery S. Rezabek |
Helen Wallace |
Bio: Judge Rezabek was appointed to serve as Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge in July of 2018. Judge Rezabek served as State Representative for the 43rd District in the Ohio House of Representative from 2015 until his appointment by Governor Kasich to be your Juvenile Court Judge. Previously, Judge Rezabek was a substitute magistrate for Dayton Municipal Court and had a successful private practice for over twenty years, which focused on juvenile, custody and family law, as well as criminal defense work. Additionally, noting his over 20 plus years as a CASA/Guardian Ad Litem for Montgomery County Juvenile Court representing the best interests of the children and families of our community. Judge Rezabek was admitted to the Ohio, New York and Federal Bars in 1998, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015. In 1997, he graduated and received his J.D. from the University of Dayton, School of Law and his B.A. in Psychology and History from the University of Dayton in 1991. |
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What will your top priorities be as a judge? The Court needs to have new and creative energy to continue to improve on the number of programs that can changed the lives of the children and the families that appear before it. The Court needs to be forward thinking and work with schools, the community and local business to reach out and address any needs to the children and families before they come before the Court. Juvenile Court can be more successful with more robust early intervention programs. Secondly, the Court needs to continue to improve on the administration of decisions when it comes to objections and appeals. There are still too many delays in moving cases forward in an efficient manner and we as a court system can improve in this area. The Court must continue to be updated on new technology, and use that technology to be innovative and progressive. Finally, I am already working on the creation of a Permanency Docket to move children languishing in foster care to permanent placements. |
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How would you determine if leniency is applicable to first time juvenile offenders? The goal of Juvenile Court is not be harsh or lenient but it is to assist and work children and their families that appear before the court who are in trouble or crisis. In working with children who come before the Court, we must work with that child and their family to address their specific issues while correcting the behavior, as being mindful of the safety of the community. The sanctions that can be imposed on children who have been adjudicated should be sufficient to appropriately punish the child, protect our community, all while working with that individual child to have them rehabilitated and change their behaviors. The Court needs to use the sanctions, programs and the Court personnel creatively and effective toward each individual client, which will result in successful outcomes. I believe that we have a very strong, diverse and creative Court and by listening to all new and innovated ideas, along with the appropriate sanctions we can make our community safer and have less juvenile crime in Montgomery County. |
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