Office: Trumbull County – Ohio Court of Appeals, Eleventh Appellate
District
Age: 62
Residence: Russell Township, OH
Email: info@maryjanetrapp.com
Website: http://www.maryjanetrapp.com; http://facebook.com/Citizen
sformaryjanetrapp; http://twitter.com/MaryJaneTrapp
Occupation: Attorney, mediator, and arbitrator
Education: A.B, cum laude, Mount Holyoke College and J.D., Case Western Reserve University School of Law
Work Experience: 31 years as a litigator and appellate counsel and 6
years as an appellate judge
Family: Married with four step-children and three step-grandchildren
Affiliations: Past President of the Ohio State Bar Association;
American Bar Association, Geauga, Portage, Cleveland Metro, and
Ohio Women’s Bar Associations; Ohio Judicial Conference Ohio Jury
Instructions Committee Board of Editors; Board Member, Legal Aid
Society of Cleveland; United Way of Geauga and Lake County, Women’s Leadership Council member; Geauga Growth Partnership
member and seminar leader; Member, Cathedral of St. John the
Evangelist and St. Anselm’s churches
Endorsements: Cleveland Plain Dealer, Warren Tribune Chronicle, Western Lake County Fraternal Order of Police
Bar Association Ratings: “Preferred” by the Trumbull County Bar Association, “Highly Recommended” by the Portage County Bar Association, and “Highly Recommended/Recommended by 98% of Geauga County Bar Association
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge, term commencing February
9, 2007, and ending February 8, 2013; Administrative Judge, 2008-
2009; Presiding and Administrative Judge, 2009-2011
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a
judge?
My career as a practicing attorney before serving as an appellate judge
spanned a wide range of notable experiences, from serving as lead
counsel in at least 25 major appellate cases and 30 major jury trials, to
being certi×ed as co-counsel in capital cases. After my return to private
practice in 2013, I have argued or consulted in over 25 major appellate
cases, including case before the Supreme Court of Ohio.
In addition to the seminal cases of my career, I have had the
opportunity to serve as counsel in over 100 arbitrations, small civil and
criminal bench trials, at all levels of state court, including the Supreme
Court of Ohio, common pleas and municipal courts, the Court of
Claims; as well as being appointed by probate courts as counsel in civil
commitment hearings including probable cause and full hearings. Most
notably, I served as mediator, arbitrator, and as a guardian ad litem for
children for the domestic relations court. On the federal level, I have
had the opportunity to practice in the federal courts of Ohio,
Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. I also had the opportunity to practice
before both state and federal administrative agencies.
In addition to lawyering, a major aspect of my professional life included
active participation in community service as a bar association leader
and volunteer at a local, state, and national level. Now returning to the
private practice of law, I focus my state-wide practice on appellate and
trial advocacy in all areas of complex civil and criminal litigation and on
providing mediation and arbitration services for attorneys, businesses,
and governmental entities at the pre-trial, post-trial and appellate
stages of a claim. I provide pro bono legal representation to low income
families as a legal aid volunteer, and I continue my work in the area of
judicial administration and legal reform as one of four collaborators on
the Cuyahoga County Bail Reform Task Force Report.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
Thirty-six years ago I took my oath as an attorney-at-law. In taking that
oath, I promised to support our constitution and faithfully follow the
law. As an attorney, I work in the trenches of our justice system helping
ordinary people with their extraordinary problems, representing
working families, children at risk, and small business owners in courts
across the state from small claims court to the Supreme Court of Ohio.
As much as I enjoy my work as a litigator, I found my calling as a judge.
The position gave me a chance to bring my years of courtroom
experience and my passion for the law to a position of public service
dedicated to ensuring the safety of our families and preserving a fair
and impartial judicial system. Never a day goes by that I do not
appreciate the enormous impact that court decisions have on people’s
lives.