Susan D. Solle

(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years)
Acting Judge, Montgomery County Municipal Court, 2010-2014 Law Clerk for Judge David Sunderland, Montgomery County Common Pleas Court, 1998-1999 Staff Attorney for Judge James Brogan, Second District Court of Appeals, 1999-2002

(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
I have been a civil litigation attorney since I left the Court of Appeals in 2002, litigating in courts all over the state and outside of this state. My practice has involved virtually every type of civil case that common pleas judges decide every day, including business litigation, personal injury, insurance, employment, property, landlord/tenant, foreclosure, and more. There will likely not be a civil case filed in my court that I have not had some experience with in the past, giving me a head start on understanding and deciding those cases.

My criminal law experience has been mostly as a law clerk deciding motions to suppress, with the court of appeals researching and deciding all possible issues associated with criminal cases, and also as acting judge. While I have limited experience as a practicing criminal lawyer, I have extensive experience deciding criminal issues.

Also, because my litigation experience is so broad, I am constantly learning new areas of the law, and that has prepared me to face new challenges when I am a judge. I have also been exposed to trials and other courtroom proceedings since I was a teenager. During college and part of law school, I worked with my mother typing transcripts for both the magistrates and, when the main courtrooms began converting to video technology, the judges in the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.

(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
The seat I am running for is currently held by Judge Barbara Gorman, who is retiring at the end of this year. Judge Gorman is someone I have looked up to for over 20 years, from the time I was working in the common pleas court as a law clerk. As a woman in the practice of law, I sought out female role models in the Dayton bar. While there are not near as many women as there are men, we have some formidable and intelligent women in the Dayton Bar, and Judge Gorman is one of them. I am running for her open seat because I am the right person to continue her tradition of excellence in the Court.

Having grown up in this county, my commitment to the community is strong, evidenced by my involvement as president of the Dayton Bar Foundation, past president of the Dayton Bar Association, past president of Legal Aid of Western Ohio and Advocates for Basic Legal Equality, adjunct professor at the University of Dayton School of Law, and Ohio Promote the Vote. My involvement in many of these organizations stems from my passion for equal justice and representation and respect for the rule of law. I have the right temperament to treat each litigant and attorney who appears before me with the respect and kindness they deserve, while still maintaining the necessary strength and control.

Finally, I understand the demands of this position, and will work hard to ensure that every person or entity appearing in my court will receive the attention necessary to bring their matter to timely and proper resolution. This county deserves a judge who is experienced and dedicated, and I am the candidate who will bring these qualities to the Montgomery County Common Pleas Court.