Candidate Details
- Residence
Columbus - Email
scott.kirschman@gmail.com - Website
http:// www.kirschmanforjudge.com - Social Media
https://www.facebook.com/kirschmanforjudge - Age
58 - Occupation
Senior Assistant County Prosecutor - Education
J.D. from Ohio State University - Work Experience
civil practice (Frost & Jacobs), civil and criminal work for Franklin County and Hamilton County. Over 26 years experience in the courtroom - Family
Single - Affiliations
Buckeye Regional Anti-Violence Organization, Franklin County Re-Entry Task Force, Past President of the Ohio University National Alumni Board - Endorsements
Central Ohio Labor Council/AFL-CIO, Columbus Fire Fighters Local 67, Communication Workers of America Local 4502, Franklin County Democratic Party, Stonewall Democrats of Central Ohio, Victory Fund, Teachers for Better Schools/Columbus Education Association, Franklin County Adelante Democrats, Franklin County Young Democrats. Supported by the Baptist Ministerial Alliance of Columbus and Vicinity.
Question 1
List your judicial experience (courts and years)
After 26 years of daily courtroom practice with criminal and civil cases, this is my first judicial campaign.
Question 2
What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
For over 26 years, I have worked in courtrooms on a daily basis. I have helped families of murder victims through the criminal justice system. I have helped witnesses face the challenge of providing testimony. My practice is about collaboration, working with defense attorneys, witnesses, the courts, to arrive at a fair and just outcome. My courtroom practice has allowed me to meet citizens from all over Franklin County. Getting people comfortable to testify requires care, patience, and actual engagement. If a person does not want to meet at the courthouse, I will meet them in their neighborhood. Knowing and using courtroom procedure allows for awareness and accommodation for each unique legal situation. My campaign has been rooted in engagement-putting the walk in the talk. With “thoughts and prayers” just digital blips, I have completed over 20 community cleanups across Franklin County. You learn about neighborhood issues at a groundwater level, when you are picking up trucker bombs in Obetz, used condoms in Westgate Park, car parts off Livingston Avenue.
Question 3
Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I believe it is important to protect our neighborhoods—we are all stakeholders in a good home life. I believe that safety and protection are as important as protecting that which which makes each neighborhood unique. Whether abandoned buildings or barking dogs, the Environmental Court is a docket that affects the quality of life for all in Franklin County I'm inspired by the words of Jane Jacobs: “Lively sidewalks have positive aspects for city children's play too, and these are at least as important as safety and protection.” I am running because Franklin County needs experienced and truly engaged judges. I am not a political climber — I want to be Franklin County's best Environmental Court Judge. I was recruited to run by a defense attorney, which I take as a compliment. I am honored to have served on BRAVO, the Select Committee on Racism and Racial Equity, and the Franklin County Reentry Task Force. We are in exciting times. Whether you call it a turning tide or a reckoning or just a recognition that we are all in this together. Every neighborhood in Franklin County deserves protection and lively sidewalks.