Office: Conneaut Municipal Court
Age: 48
Residence: Conneaut, OH
Email: carl@judgedifranco.com
Website: judgedifranco.com
Occupation: Judge
Education: Penn State University, Dickinson School of Law J.D.; Purdue University B.A., Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa
Work Experience: Conneaut Municipal Court Judge 2015 to present; Acting Municipal Court Judge 2005-1015; Cannon, Aveni & Malchesky, L.P.A. 2007-2015
Family: Divorced with three minor children (Isabelle, Julia, Oscar) and one adult child (Maximillian)
Affiliations: American Judges Association, Ohio Judicial Conference, Association of Municipal and County Judges, Northeast Ohio Municipal and County Judges Association, The Justinian Forum, Ohio State Bar Association, Ashtabula County Bar Association, Conneaut Rotary Club, Loyal Order of Moose, Sons of The American Legion #151, Conneaut Order of Elks, Amboy Rifle Club, and Corpus Christi Parish/Finance Council
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
Conneaut Municipal Court Judge 2015-present; municipal court Acting Judge 2005-1015
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
Like most good lawyers, I can share that in in my nearly 20 years of private practice prior to serving as Conneaut judge, I represented individuals and families in all sort of civil and criminal matters throughout Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Portage and Summit counties. That experience is important, but it is not what helps a lawyer be a great judge. After years in private practice, I came to realize that the best lawyers understand the importance of the ability to sit and listen to the pains and fears of their clients, and to respect the pains and fears of those litigants on the other side. I truly believe that understanding those pains and fear, helped me help my clients put lawyers and lawsuits behind them and start to reconstruct and move forward with their lives. I often think back on those experience as I have been serving as Conneaut judge. On a daily basis, I remind myself to sit and listen to those that appear in the Court. To let them really share with me what they feel and believe. That lets me make the best judgments – and sometimes those judgments sting. Often my decisions have to sting to keep the Conneaut community safe. Sometimes those decisions have to “hurt†to help the people that come before the Court become the best version of themselves. I, of course, cannot make everyone who comes before the Court happy, but I can be sure I took the time to really understand why they were before the Court. More than any one thing, learning to do my best to understand people when I was in private practice, makes me well qualified to help Conneaut if I am privileged to continue as judge.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
In 2015 I created a Suspended License Intervention Program and since then over 100 defendants have become valid licensed drivers. The program allowed me to give people a way to move forward from staggering reinstatement fees and fines while maintaining the ability to punish if they do not take advantage of that opportunity. Also, in 2015, after discussing the heroin epidemic with then Attorney General Mike DeWine, he invited me to his Heroin and Opioid Task Force. There, I met professionals from all over NE Ohio who gave me exposure to ideas and resources not previously available to the municipal court. In 2016, the Supreme Court of Ohio conducted a physical security assessment of the Conneaut Municipal Court at my request. Since then, many of the security recommendations have been implemented including subjecting all persons to a security search with metal detectors, having uniformed and armed court security officers, and expanding closed-circuit video surveillance. In 2017, the Supreme Court of Ohio appointed me to the Ohio Criminal Sentencing Commission whose primary objective is to modernize the Ohio Revised Code and enhance justice and ensure fair sentencing. Presently, we are working on proposals to better address addiction in Ohio’s criminal justice system. In 2018, the Conneaut Municipal Court created an intensive supervision probation program to better monitor the growing number of defendants placed on probation for crimes of violence and drug abuse. The Court has built solid relationships with community partners working to combat addiction such as Signature Health, Community Counseling Center and Lake Area Recovery Center. To date, we have seen a significant number of individuals get and stay clean. The Court’s partnership extends beyond those entities working to address addiction and includes those working to address other issues such as domestic violence. In 2019, the Conneaut Municipal Court hosted a domestic violence supervision forum to maximize collaboration with all justice partners and enhance community safety and offender accountability through proper assessment, referrals, and monitoring of offenders. Most recently in 2019, the Court embarked upon a modernization of all its computer hardware and software and went on-line at no cost to the taxpayers. If re-elected I intend to continue the expansion of probation services, continue to work with the City of Conneaut on facility improvements, and further professionalize the Conneaut Municipal Court by investing in human capital and remote technology.