×

Ferguson effective as county judge

Voters face a choice between two viable candidates for county court judge of Jefferson County at Toronto.

Both speak of the need for greater efficiency and an updated computer system that allows the three county courts and Steubenville Municipal Court to work more clearly together. Both speak of accountability for those before the court in fulfilling meaningful sentences, whether they be sent to community service programs or to the jail.

Both speak of using the jail sparingly and as a wise resource of last resort for people who show no willingness to change.

But it is Lisa Ferguson, appointed to the seat by Gov. John Kasich, who gets our backing as the candidate of choice to a full term on the bench.

While it’s true that Ferguson doesn’t have the trial experience of her opponent, Kris Haught, she proved able to move quickly through the learning curve when she took the bench. She has proven effective at putting bad guys in jail and working with those who show a willingness to try to change.

She is working on programs to make the court a true people’s court, seeking to educate people on the options available to them on everything from small claims filings to traffic court procedures. She’s moved ahead with trying to keep young drivers safe, buying a traffic simulator to supplement a state simulator to take to the schools, demonstrating not only the impact of texting and driving but also procedures for safe winter driving. In accompanying the state patrol on school visits, she emphasizes the need for students to download phone software that prevents texting while driving.

She has implemented and wants to expand the use of ankle monitoring bracelets, allowing defendants to retain jobs instead of sending them to jail and losing their employment at a time when work might be the connection they need to get back on the right track. It’s recognition of limited jail space and an effective tool at holding people accountable in the face of that. Again, she emphasizes that if the opportunity is blown, it’s jail time. Ferguson is working on ways to see a portion of defendant court costs pay for the expansion of the monitoring program.

Community service, she said, must be real work that benefits a community, not merely babysitting people. Toronto court offenders worked, for example, at setup and cleanup at the Toronto Festival of Arts.

She wants to establish procedures to know more about defendants before sentencing to help know who might benefit from various diversion programs and who should go straight to jail, with anyone who fails to comply with a diversion program going to jail.

Ferguson approaches the court as a full-time job, with no private law practice to take her attention or affect her judgment.

She is working to raise the visibility of the court, to raise the performance of the court and to educate people from students to adults about just what the court does and doesn’t do while working with making defendants accountable in an era of limited jail cell availability.

Lisa Ferguson deserves your vote Nov. 8.

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

COMMENTS

Starting at $4.73/week.

Subscribe Today