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Akron Municipal Court judge recounts career in law
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: May 24, 2013
She first caught the “law bug” as a teenager and since then Akron Municipal Court Judge Katarina Cook said she has been on a mission to use the power of the legal system to help people.
I have always wanted to be a judge,” said Cook, a Republican who took office in 2009. “It is my philosophy that if I can dispose of my cases in the right way, then the criminal defendants who come before me will learn from their experience and never be back again.”
The Akron Municipal Court handles misdemeanor criminal cases in which the maximum sentence is six months in jail and a maximum $1,000 fine, as well as the initial stages of felony proceedings prior to trial and civil matters, where the monetary claim involved does not exceed $15,000. Its jurisdiction covers Akron, Fairlawn, Bath, Richfield, Lakemore, Springfield Township and the portion of Mogadore that is in Summit County.
In addition to her regular duties, Cook once presided over the drug court on a substitute basis and since June 2012 she is the presiding judge of the OVI court, which handles defendants convicted of an OVI (operating a vehicle under the influence of alcohol or drugs), the majority of whom have had a second or third offense in six years.
Born in the former Yugoslavia, Cook arrived in Barberton with her parents when she was an infant. She said the first time she thought seriously about becoming a lawyer was as a sophomore, when her English teacher encouraged her to try out for the Firestone High School debate team. Winning the best speaker award at one of the competitions, she said, encouraged her to pursue her future career.
After her mother passed away, her uncle adopted her. Cook said she found out the power of a judge during those proceedings, and the impact he or she can have on the lives of the parties involved.
“Once the judge had all the information before him and we had a good attorney that understood our case and was willing to take on a case that appeared on its face to have no chance of winning, I saw the American legal system at work at its finest.
“Fortunately, I ended up with my uncle,” said Cook. “Unfortunately, he thought there were too many lawyers and did not like lawyers, so he discouraged me from becoming one.”
She enrolled in the University of Rochester in New York, majoring in biology with the goal of becoming a doctor, but soon Cook said she decided to pursue her interest in the law.
“I was no longer living at home and I was paying my own tuition, which made it easier,” said Cook, who graduated with a bachelor of arts in both history and psychology. She took a year to work and get her finances in order, and returned home to Ohio, where she obtained her juris doctor at The University of Akron School of Law.
During her third year in law school, Cook worked as a law clerk for then-Akron Municipal Court Judge Ted Schneiderman.
“When Katarina became my law clerk, I got to know her well,” said Schneiderman. “She was very conscientious about getting her work done.
“Later when she became a judge I saw more of her. After I retired she called on me to serve as a substitute in her court. I got to see her handle cases and I would say that she is very diligent. She manages her workload well, disposing of cases in a timely fashion,” said Schneiderman.
“Being a judge requires that you interact with regular people and I would say she is very suitable for that type of work.”
Cook met her husband, Kevin, through a mutual friend in 1991, and they got married in 1993. Their first son, Jordan was born the next year and is now a freshman at Miami University in Ohio. The couple also has three younger sons, Christian, 16, Noah, 13, and Jacob, 9.
Prior to joining the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office in 1993, Cook was an intern in the 6th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals. At the prosecutor’s office, she specialized in child sex offender cases, serving on the Child Sex Abuse Task Force. She resigned to spend more time with her family, and in 1997, she started her own firm, focusing on juvenile and domestic relations cases. Cook was recognized by Ohio’s 123rd Congress for her outstanding work as a guardian ad litem at the Summit County Juvenile Court.
The longtime Akron resident said her work in the prosecutor’s office generated an interest in mediation.
“I learned a great deal from Stark County Prosecutor Bob Horowitz,” said Cook. “It was a very adversarial position, however, and after I left I started thinking about mediation. Frank Motz, who I had met while I was working in the Stark County Prosecutor’s Office was doing mediation work.
“When I told him of my interest he suggested I take his class and one thing led to another and before I knew it I was working for him,” said Cook, who was a substitute mediator for the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, and joined Motz’s mediation practice in Stark County, which specialized in domestic relations mediation.
“I was extremely impressed with Katarina right from the start,” said Motz, chief mediator for the Summit County Common Pleas Division Court. “My admiration and respect for her has only grown. She is hard working and intelligent and conducts herself with the utmost professionalism.
“She has a real interest in people, and trying to resolve all disputes in ways that will have a positive impact on the future of those who come before her.”
In 2005, Cook was appointed as the traffic magistrate for the Akron Municipal Court.
“I learned so much about traffic law,” Cook said. “Unlike murder or malpractice cases, driving is something that most people need to do on a daily basis, and if their license gets suspended it can impact multiple areas of their lives.
“I must have presided over 500 bench trials and disposed of close to 16,000 cases during my years as magistrate,” said Cook. “The majority of the time the cases involved multiple suspensions. I made it a practice of explaining to the people who came before me the procedures necessary and resources available to get their licenses back so that they were clear on the rules.”
In November 2009, she beat Democratic Akron Municipal Court Judge Orlando Williams. He had been appointed by former Gov. Ted Strickland several months earlier to fill one of the vacancies left when three judges were elected to positions in higher courts.
As a municipal court judge, Cook said one of the best parts of her job is marrying couples.
“Most of the time, one of the parties that appear before me leaves court unhappy. When I perform marriage ceremonies, everyone is happy. I enjoy being part of one of the most important occasions of their lives.”
Sometimes defendants fail to complete their sentences and they turn themselves in voluntarily, she said. “By doing so, the police are not involved and a possible dangerous situation has been avoided.” In those cases, Cook said she makes it a point to thank defendants for appearing.
“Most are surprised, but it is my belief that the little things matter. We need to give people credit for the positive steps they take, which often lead to additional positive steps.”
She said she never handles matters in chambers in an effort to keep “everything on the record. I am consistent. Once I explain all the rules I warn the person what will happen if he or she violates the guidelines and I always follow through with the consequences,” said Cook.
For those who have questions, Cook holds walk-in office hours four mornings a week Monday through Wednesday and Friday, from 8 to 8:30 a.m. However, if a person works, her bailiff will set appointments outside of the walk-in schedule.
Cook said she often sees the positive results of her work firsthand when former defendants return to court to show her how they have changed their lives.
“One woman who had her water break while in my courtroom now brings the baby back to see me to show that she got her life on track,” said Cook.
But perhaps the most well known defendant who she said she tried to help is Christina LaPointe. The former prostitute and recovering addict made headlines after having part of her face shot off while in a car in 2006 when the shooter missed the driver and hit her instead.
“She came before Judge Brenda Burnham Unruh, who was a good friend of mine,” said Cook. “Judge Unruh made a deal with her that she could get reconstructive surgery if she stayed clean for at least two years. She got the surgery and then fell off the wagon several times.
“Right before Judge Unruh passed away, she [LaPointe] came before me and asked me to put her into IBH (Interval Brotherhood Program, an inpatient drug treatment program),” said Cook. “I warned her that I would put her back in jail if she fell off the wagon again. Judge Unruh died that Sunday. On Monday, I called IBH and told Christina and got someone to transport her to Judge Unruh’s funeral.”
Cook said LaPointe successfully completed the IBH Program and finished her probation at the Akron Municipal Court.
“On the anniversary of her first year of sobriety I attended an AA meeting with her and I take her out to lunch on her birthday as long as she stays clean,” said Cook. “She did it on her own, I just helped her along.
“I think that is what my job is all about, helping one person at a time.”
Cook is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, Ohio Women’s Bar Association, Association of Municipal/County Judges of Ohio and the Akron Bar Association.
Over the years she has been active in the Akron Bar Association’s Street Law Program, serving either as chair or co-chair since 2006. She has also served as chair of the Municipal Courts Committee, co-chair of the Mock Trial Committee and is an Akron Bar Foundation fellow. In addition, Cook is a bencher in the Scanlon/Bell Inns of Court and mentors law students through a joint program with The University of Akron School of Law and the Akron Bar Association.
She serves on numerous community boards, including Friends of Hower House and the Preservation Alliance of Greater Akron. In the past she was on the Akron Child Guidance Center Women’s Board, the Summit County Juvenile Court CASA Board, the Akron Municipal Employees Credit Union Audit Committee, the Junior League of Akron and is involved with the Women’s Network.
Most recently she became a member of the steering committee of The Love Akron Network to honor the memory of Judge Unruh. The organization, which is made up of Christian leaders in the Greater Akron area, helps young people to become productive members of society.
For the past seven years, she has been known as “coach” to a middle school mock trial team at her children’s school.
“I really enjoy bringing a legal education to seventh and eighth graders,” said Cook. “It not only teaches the children about the courts but it also helps them to learn public speaking. Perhaps some of the students will follow in my footsteps and become an attorney because I coached them in mock trial; that would be a very fulfilling legacy.”
Still, Cook is not ready to talk about retirement, and is seeking another term as Akron Municipal Court Judge, a job she said she continues to enjoy.
“There is still a lot more to be done,” said Cook.
“All specialty courts, including the OVI Court, are in the process of obtaining certification from the Ohio Supreme Court, and I want to see this through.”