Gary F. Werner Medina Municipal Court

Candidate Details

Residence
Brunswick
Email
gwerner@medinamunicipalcourt.org
Website
votejudgewerner.com
Social Media
Age
61
Occupation
Judge, Medina Municipal Court
Education
Loyola Law School, Los Angeles
1994, J.D.

Phi Delta Phi member

Managing Editor, Entertainment Law Journal

U.C.L.A.
1991, B.A. in Economics

Phi Beta Kappa

Summa cum laude

Highest Departmental Honors

Brunswick High School
1979

National Honor Society

Inductee, Brunswick High School Hall of Fame
Work Experience
2004-2017       Berns, Ockner & Greenberger, Beachwood, Ohio

2000-2004       Kahn, Kleinman, Yanowitz & Arnson, Cleveland, Ohio

1998-2000       Gallagher, Sharp, Fulton & Norman, Cleveland, Ohio

1993-1998       Bottum & Feliton, Los Angeles, California

1993                Judicial Clerk for the Honorable Paul Boland, Los Angeles County Superior Court

I was elected as the Medina Municipal Court Judge in 2017. I am completing my first term in office and am seeking re-election.

I was admitted to the practice of law first in California and practiced for about 4 years before re-locating with my family to Ohio. I have been admitted to the bar in California and Ohio, and in Federal Courts including the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the District Courts in the Central District of California and the Northern and Southern Districts of Ohio

I am now on the faculty as a presenter for the Supreme Court of Ohio's Judicial College. While practicing law, I was a regular seminar presenter for the National Business Institute, CLE International, and the Ohio State Bar Association.

I previously served as the Mayor of Brunswick (2010-2013), City Councilman in Brunswick (2004-2009), and also served several years on the Brunswick Board of Zoning Appeals prior to that.
Family
Married 32 years with 2 children and 3 grandchildren.
Affiliations
I am Roman Catholic.
Endorsements
State Representatives, Ohio General Assembly (Sharon Ray (Dist. 66) and Melanie Miller (Dist. 67))

Medina County Commissioners (Steve Hambley, Colleen Swedyk, and Aaron Harrison)

Mayors of the County's two largest cities (Brunswick Mayor, Ron Falconi, and Medina Mayor, Dennis Hanwell). Both cities are in the Medina Municipal Court's district.

Medina County Recorder (Linda Hoffmann)

Medina County Board of Realtors
Bar Association Ratings
N/A

Gary F. Werner

Question 1

List your judicial experience (courts and years)

I am in my sixth year as the presiding and administrative judge at the Medina Municipal Court (2018-2023). It is a single judge court that handles approximately 12,000-13,000 cases annually.

Question 2

What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?

I served as Mayor of the City of Brunswick for four years. During that term I presided over the Mayor's Court for the City. This involved adjudicating many of the same criminal charges presented to me now at the Municipal Court docket, as Brunswick is within the Medina Municipal Court's jurisdiction. Indeed, the court took and still takes many case transfers from this Mayor's Court. The procedural overlap between these positions contributed to my preparation to be a judge.

I was a Councilman in Brunswick for 5 years also. This involved me in the legislative process and required close contact with many people who expected me to prioritize their concerns. That experience added perspective on my responsibility for interpreting and applying law. It also further sensitized me in safeguarding the rights of parties and those charged with crimes in our court.

I also had twenty years of litigation experience prior to taking the bench. That experience was acquired in two states working in firms ranging from 8 to 70 lawyers. That work involved close contact with many outstanding lawyers and required me to appear before many different judges. I have incorporated the best of these decades of encounters and experiences into the standards I now enforce and follow on the bench.

Question 3

Why are you running for this particular court seat?

I love this work. I enjoy the people I work with. I have over my term developed competence in administering this court's business and am eager to continue capitalizing on that experience. I am grateful for the opportunities this work affords me to help those ready to be helped to redirect their lives into more productive activities and relationships. I take the rule of law seriously and appreciate the opportunity to protect that cornerstone principle. And this position allows me to help preserve the safety of the community I share with my neighbors.