Office: 6th District Court of Appeals
Age: 59
Residence: Toledo, OH
Email: None
Website: www.judgezmuda.com
Occupation: Judge Lucas County Common Pleas Court, General Division
Education: B.S in Political Science, magna cum laude in 1981 and JD in 1984 both from the University of Toledo
Work Experience: Practicing attorney for 19 years handlingcases throughout Northwest Ohio; Toledo City Councilman from 1993-2003; Toledo Municipal Court Judge from 2003-2006; and Judge of Lucas County Common Pleas Court from 2006-present
Family: Married to Terri Zmuda and have two sons, Eric and Matthew
Affiliations: Member of the Toledo Bar Association; the Ohio State Bar Association; Trustee for the Ohio Judicial College; Chair of the Civil Law Committee of the Ohio Judicial Conference; member of the Executive Committee of the Ohio Judicial College
Endorsements: N/A
Bar Association Ratings: See Toledo Bar Association Poll at www.toledobar.org/judicial-poll Where I was overwhelming fod to be Highly Qualified for the seat
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
I have served as a Judge for the Toledo Municipal Court from 2003-2006 and I currently serve as a Judge for the Lucas County Common Pleas Court from 2006-present. I have also served as Judge of the Maumee Watershed Conservancy District from 2013-present and was appointed by the Ohio Supreme Court to serve as a Judge of a specialized business docket of the Lucas County Common Pleas Court from 2008-present
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
I practiced law for 19 years before becoming a Judge. In that time, I handled cases in 23 different counties in Ohio including the 8 counties which make up the 6th Appellate District. I also practiced before the Ohio Supreme Court and the US District Court in Toledo. I was privileged to appear before many different judges, and that experience has helped me gain insight on what makes for a good judge and has clearly contributed to my becoming a successful trial court judge.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
The work of an Appellate Judge is to review the work of the trial court. My experience as a trial court judge for the past 15 years in both municipal and common pleas court make me uniquely qualified for this office. These two trial courts are the busiest courts in Ohio, requiring the judges to manage and timely resolve significant caseloads involving a wide range of legal issues on civil and criminal cases. My responsibilities as a trial judge range from the marrying of people to imposing the death penalty. Whatever issue is before the court, justice requires the fair and equal application of the law to all parties. This is fundamentally what is meant by the application of the Rule of Law. I also believe this requires judges to explain the basis of their decision. This is true whether the judge is explaining to a criminal defendant the basis for the sentence, or explaining to a civil litigant the reasoning for the court’s ruling on a motion. This same judicial decision making process is crucial in the appellate court, because in reviewing the work of the trial court, it is even more imperative to advise the parties and the trial court the rationale for the decision to provide guidance and direction, not just for the specifics of the case, but also guidance for future cases which involve the identical or similar issues. This process is a fundamental cornerstone of our judicial system. It is how I have conducted myself as a trial judge and will conduct myself should I be fortunate to win this seat.