Judge Julius Hunter selected for full-time Recorder’s Court position

A Columbus Council committee tasked with selecting a full-time chief Recorder’s Court judge has chosen Julius Hunter for the position.

Hunter, who currently serves as interim senior Recorder’s Court judge, will be presented for confirmation at the Sept. 12 council business meeting.

“I feel privileged and honored to serve the citizens of this great community and I am humbled the City Council Committee has recommended me for this responsibility and opportunity,” Hunter said in a news release issued by the city. “I look forward to serving the citizens in this capacity.”

The hiring of a full-time judge is part of the city’s 2017 budget ordinance, which includes plans for a restructuring of Recorder’s Court. His salary would be $105,000, according to Councilor Judy Thomas, who sat on the selection committee.

Under the restructuring proposed by council, the chief judge would preside over morning and afternoon court sessions on week days. The senior judge would be given a pot of money and the authority to hire pro-tem (part time) judges to preside over Environmental Court, as well as Saturday and holiday court sessions, on an as needed basis. The pro-tem judges would be selected from a roster that the senior judge develops, and they would be paid $150 per session.

There is currently one part-time senior judge and three judge pro-tems at the court — Judge Mary Buckner, Robert Wilson and Michael Joyner. Buckner currently presides over the afternoon court, which will now be covered by Hunter.

Thomas said she expects the three judge pro-tems to continue serving at Recorder’s Court.

“What we are doing is the chief judge will be conducting, basically, Monday through Friday, all day — 8 o’clock in the morning until whenever they finish in the afternoon,” she said. “... We already have those people who do the Environmental Court, who do the Saturday courts. ... And they will be used to fill in for the chief judge when he is on vacation, sick or in training or whatever.

“... The chief judge will be able to draw up a list of people that he wants to serve as his judge pro-tems,” she said. “And we don’t anticipate any change in that at all because those people are in place and some of them have been in place for quite a while. But the chief judge will have that authority to name the pro-tems.”

Thomas said the money for the judge pro-tems is already in the budget and there are no plans to increase the amount.

She said Wilson and Joyner are currently paid $150 per court session. But Buckner is under a contract with the city from the previous court administration run by Judge Michael Cielinski. Under that contract, Buckner has a yearly salary of about $46,000 plus benefits, Thomas said.

“Our contract with her runs through January of 2019,” she said. “We do not intend to break that contract. And we have talked with Judge Hunter and anticipate that he will use Judge Buckner as he sees necessary. But because we have a contract with her — and quite frankly because she’s a 26-year employee — we’re not proposing to break that contract.”

Hunter has served in the interim position since January 2017 when he replaced Cielinski, who was recovering from surgery at the time. Cielinski has since retired from the part-time position, which currently pays $43,846.

Hunter is a native of Dayton, Ohio. He is married to Saundra Hunter, a Columbus native, and they have three adult children and four grandchildren.

Hunter previously served as a pro-tem judge in Recorder’s Court, serving as Environmental Court judge. He also served during Saturday Court and filled in when needed for the regular judges of Recorder’s Court.

He held a Columbus Council seat from 1998-2010.

Others on the selection committee were Councilor Jerry “Pops” Barnes, Councilor Gary Allen, Retired Chief Superior Court Judge John Allen and Attorney Madden Hatcher.

“Judge Hunter’s leadership in Recorder’s Court will ensure that all citizens who come into Recorder’s Court will receive respect, a fair and impartial hearing, and cases will be expedited as quickly as possible,” Judge Allen said in the news release.

“The Council Selection Committee stated it is excited that Judge Hunter chose to seek this opportunity,” the release continued. “And the citizens of Columbus will benefit from his many years of experience in Recorder’s Court and from his many years serving as a well-respected attorney in this community.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2017 at 11:27 AM with the headline "Judge Julius Hunter selected for full-time Recorder’s Court position."