Chief Justice appoints Judge Shriver to advisory committee

Supreme Court of Ohio Chief Justice Thomas Moyer has appointed Clermont County Municipal Court Administrative Judge James Shriver to an advisory panel tasked with advancing the success of Ohio’s specialized dockets programs.

The Supreme Court Specialized Docket Section offers technical assistance to courts and conducts training for key personnel and stakeholders involved with the specialized docket programs at no cost to the local community.

“I look forward to this opportunity,” said Shriver, who established and presides over Ohio’s first OVI (Operating a Vehicle Impaired) Court.  “Specialized dockets enable the court system to slow the ‘revolving door’ of offenders who keep coming through the court system with the same problems over and over again.”

The Clermont OVI Court docket was established in June 2005 to deal with an increasing number of impaired drivers on county roadways; the program helps offenders work on the addictive behaviors behind their drunken driving arrests. Thus far, the Clermont OVI Court has graduated 81 men and women.

"I am proud to report that most of these individuals are now actively involved in the lives of their families and are positive role models."

"Today, 129 specialized dockets are used by common pleas, juvenile, municipal, and county courts," said Chief Justice Moyer, in announcing the advisory panel.

He said the committee will develop standards, performance measures, and training requirements for specialized dockets in Ohio. The Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services reports that specialized dockets have shown positive results for assisting drug offenders, parolees, offenders with mental illness, sex offenders, and those convicted of domestic violence.

Judge Shriver recently received the C.J. McLin Award from the Ohio Justice Alliance for Community Corrections; the award recognized the efforts of Judge Shriver to establish the OVI Court and praised his "willingness to renew an interest in problem-solving courts." The OVI Court has gained widespread acceptance in its approach and has served as a model for many other counties.

Earlier this year, Judge Shriver received the President's Award for Judicial Justice from the Association of Municipal/County Court Judges of Ohio. In 2008, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers gave the program its Award of Excellence: the Supreme Court of Ohio Specialized Dockets Section has also named the OVI Court as a best-practice court.