Voters will choose between two candidates for judge of the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas.
Republican Nickolas McCoy is running against Democrat Emma Mirles-Jones. They are running to fill the unexpired term of the seat vacated when Judge James Schuck retired amid allegations of sexual assault and stalking from an assistant county prosecutor. Prosecutors declined to charge Schuck, whose attorney admitted there was an extramarital affair but denied any criminal allegations.
The unexpired term ends on Dec. 31, 2030.
Ohio's general election is Nov. 3, with polls open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Voters also may cast their ballots early at the Delaware County Board of Elections, 2079 US Highway 23 N Suite 4.
The information below was supplied
by candidates responding to a questionnaire. The Dispatch only edited responses for length or clarity.
Nickolas K. McCoy
Age: 52
Party: Republican
Campaign website: VoteMcCoy.com
Background: Nickolas K. McCoy serves as a magistrate in the Delaware County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile and Probate Division. He was admitted by the Supreme Court of Ohio to practice law in November 2009 after earning his juris doctor from Capital University Law School. McCoy also holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial technology with a minor in business administration from Ohio University. Before entering the legal field, he worked as a project engineer in the automotive industry, a mechanical designer in the food processing equipment industry and a mechanical engineer in the aerospace and defense sector.
Why are you the best candidate? I have practiced real law for real people in real courtrooms in Delaware County and in central Ohio. I have managed employees, personnel, budgets, payroll, and run a successful business. As a full-time magistrate, I have judicial experience managing my own court docket, presiding over hearings, writing decisions, and issuing orders from the court. I do not legislate from the bench or prosecute from the bench, and I will continue to interpret and apply the law as written to the cases in this court. I have a steady judicial temperament necessary for the fair administration of justice. Additionally, I present a skill set that no other candidate for this position possesses. My background as an engineer demonstrates my academic achievement and extensive education. The analytical mind required of an engineer is ideally suited to the mind of a judge and the kinds of decisions judges have to make. My broad legal experience in private practice for almost 16 years serves me well in my role as a magistrate and will continue to serve me well as a judge. My experience in personnel management, office management, and real-world lawyering will be invaluable in the facilitation of a complex general division docket.
What do you see as the most pressing issue facing the Delaware County Common Pleas Court? The most pressing issue facing the court is the increase in cases coming before the court. There has been a steady increase in civil actions filed with the court. Estimates show approximately a 20% increase in cases. Staffing and workload will need to be reviewed to ensure that the court stays consistent with the processing of cases in a fair and efficient manner for all litigants. The efficient, fair and impartial administration of justice is of paramount importance for a court. Litigants deserve to have their cases resolved without unnecessary delays, frustration and added expense.
What is your approach to justice and how would you implement that if elected to this position? An overall fundamental fairness in our court system is my approach to justice. Fundamental fairness requires legal, ethical and moral fairness to all participants within our court system. The protection of due process is critical in all aspects of the court’s processes while adhering to the Constitution and interpreting and applying the law as written. Transparency in the court’s processes, timeliness with decisions and adherence to case management schedules are crucial in the administration of justice. Litigants desire fairness, the opportunity to be heard and efficient processing of their case. If elected, my primary focus will be fundamental fairness in all aspects of how we run the court. I will use my business, management and engineering background combined with my legal knowledge to seek efficiencies in our court system, which will lead to the fair and impartial administration of justice for the community we serve.
What role do judges play in instilling confidence in the justice system and how would you preserve that trust? A good judge must be impartial, have the highest character with unquestionable ethics, a good temperament, toughness, logic and empathy. A good judge must have an ability to manage a docket, possess an analytical thought process and common sense. Varied legal knowledge is important; however, legal knowledge may be obtained where inherent character traits and integrity are either present or they are not. A good judicial temperament requires patience, civility, empathy, respect, steadiness and consistency with a lack of preconceived bias. A judge must be fair and decisive with an efficient processing of each case. Most litigants want to have due process (their day in court and the opportunity to tell their side of the story), be treated fairly and have the case resolved efficiently. The judge plays the lead role in preserving the public’s trust in the legal system. The judge sets the example for the court and its personnel. A judge who is focused on the integrity of the process and fairness of the process is critical. I will be that judge.
Emma Mirles-Jones
Age: 53
Party: Democrat
Campaign website: EmmaForJudge.com
Background: Emma Mirles-Jones is a public defender of 16 years, working in Franklin, Delaware and, most recently, Morrow counties. Mirles-Jones represents abused and neglected children, delinquent and criminal defendants in juvenile, municipal and common pleas (felony-level) courts. She has a Juris Doctor and MBA in finance from Case Western Reserve, and a bachelor's from Brown University. Mirles-Jones has other work experience in HR, banking (teller, corporate trust, commercial real estate), two IT firms and several real estate developer/investment companies. Mirles-Jones has done work for farms/ag, real estate rentals, foreclosure and landlord/tenant. She's been working or volunteering in Delaware courts since 2012 and has experienced the loss of farmland, water pressure and unstable electricity.
Why are you the best candidate? I am the only candidate who has practiced in both civil and criminal courts, plus have experience as a neutral third party. I am a mediator and quasi-judicial guardian ad litem for abused, neglected and dependent children, as well as the occasional adult with concerns of mental incapacity. I worked as a baseball, softball and intramural umpire in my college years. I take my job as an objective and unbiased, call 'em as I see 'em, legal professional very seriously. I have to review every one of my cases for the pros and cons. I have to explain this to sometimes emotional and occasionally hostile clients or opponents. But emotions have little to do with my recommendations to the court or my clients. What does the law say, and what does the evidence show? My recommendations and advice are grounded in facts and law, served with a little touch of compassion and empathy. My maternal grandfather was a tobacco and banana farmer who struggled to feed his family. He moved to Ohio to work in the steel mills. Fortunately, he was able to take his pension and retire back on his farm in his happy place till his final years.
What do you see as the most pressing issue facing the Delaware County Common Pleas Court? At the moment, the court is in need of a stable judge who can hit the ground running to help clear up the caseload backlog. With my wide-ranging experience, I hope to jump in with both feet and start clearing cases. I don't pretend to say this will be easy. However, as a present-day trial attorney, I know what it takes to negotiate and reach creative agreements to make resolutions palatable to both sides of the courtroom. I will use that negotiation, mediation and creative problem-solving experience to help move cases along and get them back on track.
What is your approach to justice and how would you implement that if elected to this position? I would love to work with the existing [Common Pleas General Division] Judge [Marianne T.] Hemmeter to look for gaps in the specialty dockets. Drug courts, mental health courts and veteran/military courts have strong track records of reducing recidivism and repeat offenders, but with caveats. I see firsthand every day how folks who have to appear in court are struggling with drug addiction and untreated mental health issues. I have a great degree of empathy, but at the end of the day, defendants need to make the conscious decision and commitment to reform and change their lives. Judges play an important role in balancing the incentives to change with the punishment for refusal to change.
What role do judges play in instilling confidence in the justice system and how would you preserve that trust? In my experience, the best thing a judge can do to instill confidence in the justice system is to issue punishments fairly and consistently. For example, I have practiced in front of judges where every theft client with a third or fourth theft offense was guaranteed to be given a fairly harsh jail sentence for being a repeat offender. I have appeared in front of other judges where a similar third or fourth offense was punished unpredictably based on the look of the defendant. I am of the opinion that rich or poor, young or old, Black or white, each person with the same punishment should start off with the same baseline punishment. Small adjustments can be made based on mitigating factors, but the best judges, in my opinion, are the ones who are substantially predictable in how harshly they will sentence someone. Patterns that are consistent and somewhat predictable help attorneys adequately prepare their clients for long sentences in jail/prison. A defendant who thought they would get two weeks in jail, but is surprised to hear one year in prison plus two years of community control, may tend to lash out in court and hold grudges that can fester into additional acts of revenge or violence in the future. When judges are perceived to be consistent, they are better perceived to be fair and equitable. Judges should strive to remember that they are members of our community and that sometimes our neighbors are struggling. First, can we help our neighbor through some harm-reduction program such as specialty docket programs? But if help is repeatedly refused, then will we punish our neighbors consistently and fairly based purely on the facts of the case without showing favoritism to anyone? People understand when they are treated equally.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Meet the candidates in the Delaware County Common Pleas Court judge race
