Joy Kennedy

(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years)
COURT EXPERIENCE Municipal – I have represented litigants in Cleveland Municipal Court, Garfield Heights Municipal Court, Cleveland Heights Municipal Court, Euclid Municipal Court, Shaker Heights Municipal Court, Bedford Heights Municipal Court, and on both civil and criminal matters.

I have also represented parties in the various housing courts in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas. I have represented parties in the Domestic Relations, Probate, Juvenile and General Divisions of the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. In Domestic Relations Court, I represented litigants who were before the court to dissolve their marriages, or who were married, and have since divorced, but other issues have risen from the original proceedings. I have represented clients in Probate Court in their role as the Administrator or Executive of an estate. I have prepared estate planning documents for clients. In both the Juvenile and General Divisions, but I have represented juveniles in delinquency matters, adults in criminal matters, and parents in family matters and I have fifteen years of trial experience.

(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
It is important to have practical experience in front of the very court in which you seek to preside. In such respect, I have represented litigants in the Domestic Relations Division in divorce, separation, and dissolution matters in which we were required to address not only child support, visitation, and custody issues, but we have also been required to address other intricacies of domestic relations matters such as spousal support orders, resolving real estate matters, the distribution of retirement benefit, and health insurance coverage matters.

As a trial attorney of 15 years, I have had the distinct honor of representing parents in family matters in two instances; (1) when they were fighting against the state of Ohio in abuse, neglect, and dependency matters; and (2) when they were fighting against the other biological parent to resolve either custody, visitation, or child support matters.

I have first-hand legal experience working through the intricacies of family matters such as addressing the needs of my emotionally engaged client, negotiating with opposing counsel to reach a resolution, or going to trial when resolutions were not achieved. I have become quite familiar with the laws that govern in this field of law and as an advocate, I have filed and argued many motions of my client’s behalf. Domestic relations court is a court where families are in crisis and there is a great need for the jurist to exercise a sound and fair application of the law, and to express the appropriate judicial restraint and temperament in which they present from the bench. I have handled cases in the Cuyahoga County, Domestic Relations Division with varying degrees of complexity, but with each one, I have remained calm and instrumental, and treated my clients, opposing counsel, and the jurist with dignity and respect. I have had extensive negotiations with opposing counsel regarding matters that were most important to my client and I have worked feverishly to resolve these matters as my clients have directed. And minimizer conflict.

I believe that my legal experience, compassionate nature, and judicial temperament qualify me to be a judge in the Domestic Relations Division, Court of Common Pleas, Cuyahoga County.

(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I am running for the open seat in the Domestic Relations Division, Common Pleas Court of the Cuyahoga County because I believe that the next seated Judge should have practical experiences working with litigants in domestic relations matters, have a strong foundation in understanding family dynamics with the ability to identify and address their needs, and have the ability to fairly and impartially apply the law when rendering legal decisions.

As a trial attorney of nearly 15 years, I have represented countless litigants with domestic relations matters. I have handled divorces, dissolutions, legal separations, and child support and child support matters with varying levels of complexity. I am well versed in the laws that govern domestic relations matters, and very experienced with the application of the rules of evidence and civil procedure that apply in these cases.

As a trained social worker for nearly 24 years, I have a strong foundational understanding of family dynamics and the ability to resolve family matters. Families who come before this court are typically in crisis and the ability to listen emphatically to each party is necessary to ensure that both parties feel comfortable in presenting their case, and assured that their matters are heard with an open mind.

I have worked with our county’s mental health and drug courts, and I can quickly identify some of the needs presented by the parties, and quickly ensure that they are connected with resources that are readily available to the court. In domestic relations cases, it is imperative to understand it is not only the litigants before the court who are impacted, but their families are also impacted. Therefore, I believe that equipping the litigants with resources to help them through this crisis would better prepare them for a more optimistic future.

My legal and social work experience, my educational training, and my compassion toward resolving family matters will be invaluable tools in rendering legal decisions in domestic relations matters that fairly and impartially apply the law. I believe in equal justice for all parties who come before the court. I believe that all parties, no matter their age, race, religion, or sexual orientation, should be treated with dignity and respect, and as the next Judge of this court, it would be my priority to do so.