ELYRIA MUNICIPAL COURT - Key Persons
Mr. Rothgery has dedicated his professional career to public service.
His resume includes four years serving our country as a Sergeant in the United States Army, six years as a council person in Elyria, and over six years as the Safety Service Director for the City of Elyria.
Mr. Rothgery has a bachelor's degree in Business Management from David Myers College and graduated from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1998.
Mr. Rothgery has been licensed to practice law in Ohio since May 1999.
Judge Gary C. Bennett was elected to the bench in November 2009, for the term commencing January 1, 2010. Although newly elected, Judge Bennett is not new to the Elyria Municipal Court. Prior to his election, he served for 10 years as an acting judge for both Judge Locke Graves and Judge Musson. Judge Bennett also served as a Traffic Magistrate for the court from September 2005, until he took the bench in January 2010.
Judge Bennett has been a driving force behind implementing and expanding court diversion programs. The court sponsors diversion programs for minor traffic cases, theft, underage consumption, and low level drug paraphernalia cases. The diversion programs require admission of the offense, attendance at an education program, extensive community service hours, and payment of court costs and probation fees. These programs put the burden and cost of rehabilitation and punishment on the offender. Punishment is fashioned around community service to provide benefits to the community in general.
Judge Bennett has continued his tradition of service to his community and profession after taking the bench. Judge Bennett is a member of the Elyria High School Task Force On Violence In Our Schools. The task force is comprised of school, city, church, and community leaders working toward defining the underlying issues which cause students to committ violent acts and finding solutions to those issues. Judge Bennett was also recently named to the Education Committee of the Association of Municipal/County Judges of Ohio. The committee is responsible for providing legal education for judges across the state of Ohio.
Since taking the bench, Judge Bennett has sponsored and been the district coordinator for the Ohio Center for Law Related Education Mock Trial Competition. Area high school teams compete for the right to qualify for the state championship. Ohio's program is the second largest in the United States.
Prior to his election, Judge Bennett engaged in private practice for 32 years. He also served as the Lorain County Prosecutor and Solicitor for the Village of LaGrange. His community service included 18 years on the Elyria Board of Education, 3 years on the Joint Vocational Board, 11 years on the Lorain County Children Services Board, 4 years on the Lorain County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, and several years on the Elyria Summer Theatre Board.
Judge Bennett is a lifelong resident of Elyria. He graduated from Elyria High School in 1970, Wittenberg University in 1974, and the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1977. He and his wife, Marjory, have 5 children and 9 grandchildren.
Judge Robert C. White worked his way through college and law school by attending evening classes at Lorain County Community College, Cleveland State University and Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, while working full-time on local factory assembly lines and as a carpet installer by day. After earning his law degree, Judge White practiced law for over 26 years before federal, state and local courts and administrative agencies. As a partner in the Fauver law firm in Elyria, Judge White represented individuals, public entities and private companies, including many of Lorain County's most prominent businesses. His public law practice included clients, such as the Elyria City School District, the Rural Lorain County Water Authority, the South Lorain County Ambulance District, the Central Lorain County Ambulance District and Rochester Village. Judge White has provided instruction to employers, business groups and other attorneys on a variety of legal topics over the years.
In addition to his experience as a Judge and attorney, Judge White has a distinguished record of public service. He served throughout his career on many community and non-profit boards, including the University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center, the Firelands Association for the Visual Arts, Comprehensive Health Care of Ohio, the Rural Lorain County Water Authority, EMH Regional Medical Center, the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Lorain County, the Elyria Rotary Club, and Lorain County Drug Free Youth. He was elected to three, four-year terms as Carlisle Township Trustee and two terms as President of the Lorain County Township Association. Judge White is a Leadership Lorain County, Class of 1994 graduate.
After serving two years as an Acting Judge in the Court, Judge White was selected by the Governor of Ohio to succeed long-time Judge Lisa Locke Graves. Since taking the bench in 2018, Judge White has established a firm, but fair judicial philosophy that balances various forms of discipline, treatment and judicial oversight to deal with some of our most pressing societal issues. In addition, he has worked to utilize his many years of litigation, administration, public service and business ownership experience to help improve and streamline court operations and public access. Those processes continue to develop in coordination with the offices of Judge Gary Bennett and Clerk of Courts Eric Rothgery.
Judge White and his wife, Anita, have three children and two grandchildren.