News
Judges Elected To Athens County Court Posts
By: Athens Messenger staff reports
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Two Athens County Common Pleas Court judges have been elected to posts within the court.
Judge Robert Stewart is serving as presiding judge and Judge George McCarthy is serving as general division administrative judge. Ohio Supreme Court rules require that the three judges within the common pleas court conduct an election among themselves for the two posts. The appointments were effective Jan. 1.
Stewart has served as Athens County Common Pleas Probate-Juvenile Court judge since 2003. In addition to those duties, as presiding judge he is responsible for calling and conducting administrative meetings of the three judges, for assigning the court’s judges to serve as needed in other divisions of the court, and for presiding over joint sessions of all the divisions of the court.
McCarthy was appointed to the bench last June, filling the slot created by the retirement of Judge Michael Ward. As the general division’s administrative judge, he is responsible to the chief justice of the Ohio Supreme Court for the general division’s administration, docket and calendar, including the assignment of judges, the timely disposition of cases and the administration of court personnel policies. These duties are in addition to McCarthy’s regular caseload of civil and criminal proceedings.
The third common pleas judge is L. Alan Goldsberry.