LISBON — Columbiana County Municipal Court Judge Kelly Linger will face a challenge from county Assistant Prosecutor Danielle Menning for the Republican nomination for the Jan. 1 term on the county Municipal Court.

Gov. Mike DeWine appointed Linger to the seat last summer to fill the vacancy created when Judge Katelyn Dickey resigned after being appointed to the Seventh District Court of Appeals.

Linger was one of three county assistant prosecutors whose names were forwarded to the governor and who interviewed for the position, including Menning and Christopher Weeda.

Linger, 46, of Wellsville, is now running for her own six-year term against Menning, 41, of Leetonia, who also filed to run as judge in the courtroom where she was an assistant prosecutor. Menning now serves as an assistant prosecutor in county Juvenile Court.

“I have a very strong work ethic and passion for justice and a dedication to serving my community,” Menning said when asked why she decided to run. “I’m definitely determined to fulfill this dream. I do respect our governor, but I also ultimately believe the choice should be up to the voters of Columbiana County.”

Linger said the opportunity arose to seek appointment to the bench, giving her another way to serve the public. She’s asking voters to keep her in the job.

“This seemed like the logical next step to use my experience to serve the people of Columbiana County,” she said.

A 1997 graduate of Beaver Local High School, Linger earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Kent State University in August 2001, but said law school was always in the back of her mind as an option. She took both the LSAT, the test to get into law school, and the GRE which is used for graduate school. She chose law school, graduating with her Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in May 2006.

She started as an associate attorney in 2006 with personal injury law firm Mark J. Oral and Associates and founded her own general law firm in 2007 until 2022 focusing on criminal defense, family law, custody disputes and estate planning. She served as an attorney with the Columbiana County Criminal Defense League, Inc. from 2008 to 2018, served as acting judge in the former East Liverpool Municipal Court when the sitting judge wasn’t available from 2018 to 2019, was assistant law director/prosecutor for the village of Wellsville from 2014-2016 and served as president of the Columbiana County Defense League, Inc. from 2018 to 2021. In January 2021, she joined the prosecutor’s office as an assistant prosecutor and remained until her appointment as judge.

Menning graduated from Crestview High School in 2002, earning a bachelor’s degree in English from Kent State University in 2006. She said she had wanted to go to law school since the fourth grade and used to watch the television show “Matlock” featuring Andy Griffith with her grandma. She earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Akron School of Law in May 2009, passing the bar just a few months later.

Her work experience started in January 2007 while in law school as co-director of the jail inmate assistance program and appellate review office associate for the University of Akron Legal Clinic. From June 2008 to November 2008, she was a judicial extern for a Summit County Common Pleas Court judge. From June 2009 to January 2010, she served as a staff attorney/intern for Oldham Kramer and from January 2010 to July 2012, she served as an associate with Zuzolo Law Offices. From July 2012 to August 2013, she worked as a landman for Larkspur Land Group LLC.

From April 2011 to November 2021, she worked with her husband in their family-owned business, Menning Photographic. She joined the prosecutor’s office in January 2020 as an assistant prosecutor and remains there, holding people accountable for their crimes in Municipal Court and now Juvenile Court.

The Ohio Revised Code requires at least six years experience as an attorney to run for judge and both candidates meet that qualification.

Linger noted that she’s practiced as an attorney in the county for a long time, 18 years, serving as both a prosecutor and defense attorney in criminal cases and representing clients in civil cases. She’s practiced in front of all her fellow judges.

What she said she’s learned is that being in front of a judge who has a diverse background, who has represented the state and represented defendants, “it gives you a unique perspective.”

Linger said it’s very different to stand up for the state of Ohio, very different than standing next to a defendant facing prison time. When it comes to her experience on both sides, she said “I think the benefit is that it’s both.”

She said what it’s like to represent a defendant can’t be taught, “you have to live it, you have to do it. You get up on the bench and it’s a different world.”

Linger has handled more than 3,000 cases since her appointment as judge and said she’s continually learning and educating herself. She’s been surprised by the number of repeat offenders who come in and out of court with very little punishment, so she’s working to clean that up.

“I take my job to protect the public seriously. If you’re put on probation in my court, expect to follow the rules and terms in place. If not, there will be sanctions,” she said.

Linger talked about promoting the Bureau of Motor Vehicle workshops that can help people get their license back and efforts to get people out of the hole with the BMV, noting the license suspensions can be overburdensome on the court and the people.

“If we can use the resources available at no cost to the county, that’s what we’re going to do,” she said.

She’s starting a veterans initiative, explaining that there are resources out there and programs to help veterans that they can bring into court. If there’s a population that deserves every resource available, it’s veterans, she said. The plan is to use legal aid and veterans services.

Linger also said she’s “looking at some technological improvements to save taxpayers’ money.”

She’s constantly looking for and learning about different programs and resources available and intends to bring those to the county.

Menning said she has extensive experience in the courtroom where she’s running for judge. She said she’s tried several jury trials, including domestic violence cases, OVIs, protection order violations, assaults and criminal damaging. She’s also litigated several suppression issues with OVIs.

“I also have civil litigation experience,” she said, related to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Ace and Consumer Sales Practice Act, both in federal court, as well as several appeals in the Seventh District Court of Appeals and the 11th and Ninth districts in Summit and Trumbull counties.

“This is an elected position so I think the voters should ultimately decide who’s there,” she said.

“My judicial demeanor would serve the community well. I would be respectful and have integrity and be a judge for all of the people,” she said, adding that she has a passion for justice and wants to use her talents to serve others.

“If elected, I would like to use technology to improve the court services offered and make sure the court is being as efficient as possible with taxpayers’ money. I would like to make information about the court’s budget more transparent and use automated text messaging technology, which is very low cost and can be included in court costs passed on to the defendants, to lessen the incidence of failures to appear. Failures to appear cost the court system and law enforcement extra money that is oftentimes unnecessary and can be avoided by a reminder text message the day before a court date (similar to a doctor’s appointment reminder). Many other municipal courts successfully utilize this technology, and I would take the opportunity to explore implementing it upon being elected,” she said.

When asked what residents can expect, Menning said “they can expect me to be fair and impartial and to uphold the Constitution.”

She talked about judges attempting to facilitate their own political agenda or legislating from the bench, which she would not do. She said she admires a lot of the president’s appointments, such as Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and U.S. District Court Judge Sara Morrison of the Southern District of Ohio. She also admires former county Municipal Court Judges and current Seventh District Court of Appeals Judges Carol Robb and Katelyn Dickey, saying “they both handle themselves with such grace and they’re genuine people.”

If retained, Linger said, “I will continue to serve the people to the best of my ability as I have since July. I have the diverse experience to be fair and impartial.”

She also said the importance of her experience on both sides, the prosecution and defense, can’t be overstated. She talked about the importance of experience and said “look at my resume and look at my opponent’s resume. There’s no comparison. That’s why I was chosen by the governor and endorsed by the Columbiana County Republican Party with 84 percent of the vote.”

Another point she made was that being on the bench isn’t just legal, it’s budgeting, and her 17 years of private practice prepared her for the non-legal aspect of being a judge.

“Being a judge requires integrity and honesty. I can with complete honesty say I am the endorsed Republican candidate. I am the conservative candidate and I am the most experienced candidate,” Linger said.

She resides with her child, a daughter, and coaches Little Blue Devils girls basketball. Her memberships include the NRA, Columbiana County Farm Bureau and Federalist Society.

Menning resides with her husband of 14 years, Josh, and their three children and said she wants to stay true to herself and her values. She’s a past softball coach for girls. Her memberships include the Ohio Farm Bureau, the Federalist Society, Crestview PTO board and Greenford Christian Church.

mgreier@mojonews.com