Qualifications

By Guy C. Guckenberger

A Narrative Statement of Qualification

As a Judge, I have given high priority to my professional development and have worked to improve the judiciary. I will have nearly 100 hours of continuing legal education for the current reporting period. Forty hours are required for judges. I am chair of Municipal Court's Civil Committee and serve on the Court's Criminal/Traffic, Trial Lawyers and Technology Committees. This past Summer I participated in planning and teaching a computer course for judges presented by the Ohio Supreme Court's Judicial College.

One of the most interesting things I've done as a judge is to create and maintain the Court's Web site at http://home.fuse.net/MunicipalCourt/. This is a good source of consumer and legal information.

As a judge, I have made it my practice to prepare in advance and effectively manage my dockets. In criminal jury trials I meet in advance with the lawyers involved to determine the issues in the case, prepare jury instructions and ascertain trial readiness. If the case is not ready for trial, the witnesses are rescheduled before they come to the courthouse. In civil cases, I work to settle disputes without trial by arranging settlement conferences with attorneys, their clients and, as appropriate, representatives of insurance companies involved.