Judges of the Court of the Common Pleas
Erik R. Blaine |
Gerald Parker |
Term: 01/06/19 Bio: Judge Erik Blaine has served as Judge for a year and a half, presiding over 1,400 cases, including complex civil cases and serious criminal felonies. Judge Blaine has presided over more trials and has been assigned 33 percent more cases than any other General Division judge. Judge Blaine is one of the most efficient General Division judges and has never been reversed by the Court of Appeals. Judge Blaine is certified by the Ohio Supreme Court to hear capital murder cases. Before becoming judge, Judge Blaine served as an assistant prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, corporate counsel, and plaintiff’s attorney practicing in courts across Ohio and nationwide. As a prosecutor, Judge Blaine created a sexting and cyber bullying diversion and education program to help students stay out of trouble and protect their reputations. Judge Blaine is a four-time Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star, earned by only 2.5 percent of Ohio attorneys. Judge Blaine is a DBJ 2014 Forty Under 40 and Dayton Bar Association 2012 Leadership Award winner. Judge Blaine is endorsed by Dayton FOP #44, Montgomery County FOP #104, and IAFF Local #2981. Judge Blaine is active on the Opioid Town Hall Task Force and many other community service efforts. |
Term: 01/06/19 Bio: I currently serve as a Magistrate Judge in Montgomery County Juvenile Court. In July of 20016 I was appointed to the bench by Judge Nick Kuntz and Judge Anthony Capizzi and preside over primarily juvenile delinquency and traffic matters, along with child dependency, abuse, and neglect cases. I attended Georgetown College (in Georgetown, KY) on a football scholarship and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in English and a minor in Business Association. After graduating from college, I attended Northern Kentucky University’s - Chase College of Law. Thereafter, I began my legal career as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney for Montgomery County, handling hundreds of felony cases. Upon leaving the prosecutor’s office I became an associate attorney for one of Dayton’s largest private law firms where he specialized in civil litigation. I enjoy spending time with his wife, along with my two daughters Zoe (4), Maya (2). We attend Southbrook Christian Church in Centerville, OH. I am very active in the community and often speak to churches, local high schools, colleges and law schools while serving as a mentor to many high school, college and law school students. My goal is to continue to serve and invest in people. |
What will your top priorities be as a judge? My top priority as judge is to provide fair, thoughtful, and timely justice to all who come before me. As judge, I have already done just that – I have never been reversed by the Court of Appeals, showing that accurate and fair justice can still be timely. Every day I hold dangerous people accountable as well as offer second chances to those who demonstrate the potential to change their lives. I also prioritize leading the Court in tackling critical social issues, including access to justice. For the past 10 years, I have been the lead for the Wills for Heroes and Wills for Veterans programs, which writes free wills for those who risk their lives to protect our community. I also work with ex-offenders with the Montgomery County Reentry Policy Board to help ex-offenders obtain CQEs, expungements, sealing records, pardons, and job training to help them move forward into a law-abiding future. Before I was Judge, I served as the Co-Chair for the Access to Justice Gala and Access to Justice campaign, working to raise money and support for free and low cost legal services to those in need. As Judge, I will continue my work to provide justice for all. |
What will be your top priorities be as a judge? In my litigation experience, I know that trial date certainty is frequently an issue for the court. Having designated ruling dates where I will rule on a motions and any other pleadings well in advance of the trial date immensely improves the efficiency of the Court. This is the fuel which brings every dispute to resolution. Many times parties are subpoenaed to court when it was obvious the case could have been resolved had motions and pleadings been ruled upon in advance. This wastes the precious time of all parties who simply need to return to their normal lives with the case resolved. Without trial certainty, victims are out of the loop as to what direction their case is going. Defendants remain unclear as to what may or may not be in their best interest. Finally, a judge should be held accountable for running his or her courtroom efficiently. From my experience trying cases, both criminally and civilly, a judge can easily lose control of his or her docket, if pre-trial motions and/or pleadings are not ruled upon swiftly and with a sense of urgency. |
Do you believe there's a need for bail reform for repeat offenders? Why or why not? There is always a need to reevaluate the laws concerning bail because the circumstances facing the justice system are ever changing. One constant is the United States Constitution’s prohibition against excessive bail. While judges cannot change the law, they can use their discretion consistently and monitor the bail and other pretrial release conditions they impose to ensure that defendants in their court are treated consistently based on the charges they face and the risk they pose if released into the community. One of the things that I do as Judge is to keep my own records on what pretrial release conditions I award, the charges pending, and the risk of violence or flight the defendant poses if released so I can routinely evaluate pretrial release conditions globally. I plan to lead the Court in doing so to centralize keeping pretrial release statistics for the entire Court to ensure fairness across dockets and better be able to provide information.. Whatever laws the legislature writes regarding bail, I will go above and beyond to make sure I use my discretion as judge in a fair and equitable manner. |
Do you believe there's a need for bail reform for repeat offenders? Why or why not? Yes, but for non-violent offenders. Bail should not punish those who cannot afford bail and unnecessary pretrial incarceration is a burden on taxpayers. Bail should serve the dual purposes of protecting the victim and public from violent criminals and securing the appearance of offenders. Assessing the risk of each offender based on criminal history/current crime and expanding pretrial services/monitoring are ways to ensure their appearance and the safety of all, while reducing the public’s tax burden. |