WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE — New Washington Municipal Court Judge Susan R. Wollscheid said she is settling in her new job and it has been a smooth transition.

She knew most of the staff members in her capacity as a former defense attorney in that court. She said she maintains an open door policy for any staff to bring her court concerns or procedural problems.

She said they have not had any jury trials as of yet, just many traffic citations, small claims cases, debtor exams, and civil cases.

The building renovations were started at the court building prior to the November election and she said they should be completed in the next couple weeks.

One of the main changes she said she made was to have 9 a.m. jail appearances via video feed (or in person if necessary) for those arrested overnight. A clerk goes to the police department and bailiff Gene Ivers goes to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office to get the paperwork on arrests so it can be processed in the court between 8 and 9 a.m. for the jail appearances.

Wollscheid wants to clear old case files so some former case clients are being called into court for a “show cause hearing” to tell the court why their fines or court costs are not yet paid, or community service hours not completed. Some people who have open files have moved out of county and cannot be located, so she said closing old files is necessary.

Future plans are to expand electronic filings to save paperwork. A goal is to get the total e-file service up and running for all entities, now being used by just state troopers for citations, tickets, for court entry. Wollscheid said she is hopeful that the sheriff’s office and their electronic upgrading will be functional by May. These upgrades are part of her cost-cutting goals for the court.

One of her goals is to streamline the procedures for defendant documents and schedules, so that after a court appearance, the defendant can get copies and arrange payments, if necessary, in a more timely manner. She tries to adhere to a better court docket time, because she said, “it’s unfair to have a person just sit and wait for all cases to be called, because everyone’s time is valuable.”

There was a wall of law books in bookcases in the former judge’s office and to save the cost of maintaining those books with the update-service, and to cut court costs, those law books were delegated to be sold on the government sale site by the city employee responsible for that service. The books were sold for between $600-$650 and the money returned to the court budget, according to city finance director, Ron Sockman. She said the online law book services were a fraction of the book maintenance fees.

Prior to the January swearing-in ceremony, Wollscheid sold her office building to Chris Paisley and closed her private practice after being elected as municipal court judge in November 2023. The apartment above the office was occupied by her nephew and Paisley agreed to continue his lease agreement.

Wollscheid started out many years ago working at the family restaurant, Ranchers. She worked as a volunteer in attorney David Bender’s (now Common Pleas Court judge) office for awhile, to get the feel of the legal system, she said. She attended the University of Dayton School of Law and got her juris doctor and was admitted to the bar in 2010. She worked in Mark Pitstick’s law office for awhile as an intern while in law school. She started out working in family law, real estate, handling juvenile matters, and being a defense attorney.

Attorneys Victor Pontious, David Kiger, and Brent Marshall are on the state approved list to serve as visiting judge in her court on vacation days or when Wollscheid needs to be out of the office. Steve Beathard received a blanket-appointment from the Ohio Supreme Court to serve as acting judge in cases where there would be a conflict of interest in her court, such as one of her former clients appearing in municipal court when she was a defense attorney there.