Stark County Court of Common Pleas - Juvenile and Domestic Relations Divisions

Judge Rosemarie A. Hall, Judge Michelle L. Cordova, and Judge Matthew P. Kreitzer serve as Judges of the Domestic Relations Court. In Stark County, the Juvenile Court falls under the jurisdiction of the Domestic Relations Division of the Court of Common Pleas. This court has been known as the Stark County Family Court for well over 30 years.

Juvenile Court Division

The Juvenile Court conducts hearings and provides programs and services to deal with the wide variety of problems that the families and juveniles bring to the Court. In response to the varied needs of families, the Court works with schools, law enforcement, public and private agencies, private business, The Stark County Family Council, parents and other organizations in order to provide comprehensive programs. The Juvenile Court cannot resolve all the community's problems but can work with and assist others in seeing that juveniles are given adequate opportunity to resolve problems and prevent further delinquency

The Juvenile Court is best known for two types of cases that capture most of the attention of the more than seven different types of cases coming before the Court. When a law is broken, and at the time of the crime the person was under 18, the case must go to the Juvenile Court. Most juvenile offenders are tried in the Juvenile Division of the Family Court, where dispositions (sentences) for delinquent juveniles include monitoring, probation, restitution, referrals to community agencies, placement in the Juvenile Attention Center, placement in a residential treatment facility, or placement in an institution operated by the State Department of Youth Services, possibly to the age of 21. Juveniles, age 14 and older, who commit serious crimes may be transferred to adult court at the discretion of the Juvenile Judge. Juveniles age 16 and 17 who are charged with certain serious felony offenses, including murder, must be transferred to the adult court if the Judge finds probable cause to believe that the juvenile committed the offense. Adult sentences apply in juvenile cases transferred to adult court, except the death sentence cannot be imposed for any crime committed before age 18.

The second group of cases the Court is known for are the abuse, neglect and dependency cases. When a case of child abuse or neglect is reported, The Stark County Department of Jobs and Family Services, Children Services Division (SCDJFS), will investigate and if necessary, file a complaint in the Juvenile Court. At every stage of a juvenile court proceeding, the court's obligation is to act in the best interest of the child. If the child is at risk, he or she may be placed with a relative or in a foster home under SCDJFS supervision. The court may order the parents to receive counseling or other social services. The court ultimately has the authority to terminate parental rights. If you suspect that a child is being abused or neglected, call the SCDJFS 24-hour hotline, 330-451-kids.

The Juvenile Court has jurisdiction to hear the following types of cases:

  • Delinquent youth - those who have committed an offense, prior to their 18th birthday, that would be a crime if committed by an adult.
  • Unruly youth - those who have committed a status offense that only applies to someone under the age of 18.
  • Juvenile Traffic Offender - anyone who has committed a traffic offense prior to attaining the age of 18.
  • Abused children - those children who have been physically or sexually abused by parents, guardians or other adult.
  • Neglected children - those children who are not properly cared for or are abandoned by their parent or guardians.
  • Dependent children - those children who are without proper care or support through no fault of their parent or guardian.
  • Adult Cases - criminal violations filed against adults who have contributed to the delinquency or unruliness of a juvenile.
  • Paternity - an action to determine the father of a given child born out of wedlock.
  • Custody - to determine the custody of any child not a ward of another court of this state.

Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI)

What is JDAI?

As defined by the Anne Casey Foundation, “The Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative® (JDAI) is a nationwide effort of local and state juvenile justice systems, initiated and supported by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, to eliminate unnecessary and inappropriate use of juvenile secure detention and to reduce racial disparities. Begun in 1992, JDAI has grown to become the most widely replicated juvenile justice reform initiative in the United States, reaching youth in more than 300 local jurisdictions across 39 states and the District of Columbia.

JDAI is a process that looks at providing the right service, to the right juvenile, at the right time in the ideal setting. By focusing on eliminating unnecessary detention, JDAI sites seek to drive comprehensive improvements in their juvenile justice systems, including preserving public safety; minimizing re-arrest and failure-to-appear rates for youth pending adjudication; ensuring appropriate conditions of confinement in secure facilities; redirecting public finances to sustain successful reforms; and reducing racial and ethnic disparities. They pursue eight interrelated core strategies to accomplish these objectives:

  • Collaboration
  • Use of Accurate Data
  • Objective Admissions Decision
  • Alternatives to Detention Programming
  • Expedited Case Processing
  • Special Detention Cases              
  • Conditions of Confinement
  • Reducing Racial & Ethnic Disparities

There will always be a need for secured detention in Stark County. Through the use of a normed risk instrument called the RAI, the court can focus on detention placement for youth who score as a detention hold based on established scoring criteria. JDAI involvement will allow us to continually examine Stark County’s juvenile justice continuum of care to identify and correct gaps in services. This philosophy allows the implementation of evidence based practices providing timely services to the families served by Stark County Family Court.

Domestic Relations Division

The Domestic Relations Division provides hearings and services to families that will ensure a fair, just and timely resolution of the cases brought before it. The Court hears and makes determinations in the following types of cases:

  • Divorce - an action to terminate a marriage in which there is dispute as to the actual termination, custody, companionship, property settlement, or as to any other issue
  • Dissolution - an action to terminate a marriage in which all of the issues are agreed to by both parties
  • Change of Custody - a motion filed in a case to request that the Court change the actual custody of a child to another party
  • Visitation - an action or motion to establish the times and days in which each parent will be with the child
  • Support Enforcement - an action to set, review or order the amount of child support to be paid or to establish the rules under which the support shall be paid
  • Domestic Violence - a complaint of a threat of or actual assault against a family member can be filed in Domestic Relations Court
  • Contempt Action and other cases - a violation of the Court's orders or any special request or review by the Court