McLaughlin Murray, Lynn
Candidate for Judge, Cleveland Municipal Court Full Term Commencing 1/5/06
Biographical Information
Address:
2495 West 11th Street
Cleveland, Ohio 44113
Current Occupation:
Magistrate, Cleveland Municipal Court
Education:
BA Baldwin Wallace College Berea, Ohio
JD Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland Ohio
Please answer the following questions in no more than 300 words.
1. Why are you the best candidate for office?
I began my service to the citizens of Cleveland in 1989 as an Assistant Prosecutor for the City of Cleveland. I continued my service as an Assistant Director of Law in Taxation and since 1999 as a Magistrate with Cleveland Municipal Court. I have served the legal profession through my work on the Certified Grievance Committee of the Cleveland Bar Association for the last 8 years. The Certified Grievance committee protects the public by prosecuting attorneys who violate the disciplinary rules. I served as chair of the Grievance committee for the 2004-2005 term. I have learned to be thorough, thoughtful, efficient, and sympathetic when appropriate and forceful when necessary. My experience as a magistrate presiding over all types of dockets of the court uniquely prepares me to serve as a Cleveland Municipal Court judge. My community involvement keeps me cognizant of community needs. I live in Tremont, an ethnically, culturally and socio-economically diverse neighborhood, and am involved in the Auburn block club. I have a real sense of the concerns of residents of the city on quality of life issues. Municipal court is the court closest to the people and the court most citizens may appear at some time, either over a traffic ticket or over a small claims civil matter. Those of us who serve the court must always be aware that for many people, this is their only contact with a judge or court. Making that experience an efficient, fair and open procedure is my most important goal.
2. If elected or re-elected, what are your top three (3) priorities and why?
I would integrate technology to make the court more efficient through the use of video arraignment, electronic dockets, and electronic filing. I would partner with the community through more town hall meetings to address the kinds of crime in the neighborhoods that affect the lives of people. Quality of life crimes make the city a less desirable place to live. These are the types of crime that come through municipal courts. The court can have a profound impact on neighborhoods if they have a partnership on a regular basis with the neighborhoods to address these issues. The court needs to do a better customer relations job in serving the public. We need to make court procedures more transparent, including on-line dockets, electronic filing of motions, paperless courtrooms. We can be more user friendly, from the signage in the building to the treatment of citizens by all the employees of the court. I walk citizens through the bureaucracy of the court on a regular basis. I believe we can make the court more business like with procedures that are more transparent and effective to do the court's business.
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