EDITOR’S NOTE: An incomplete version of this story was published on Tuesday, April 7.

WARREN — Trumbull County voters face a choice between two Republicans for their next probate court judge: one with three decades of judicial experience, the other an appellate veteran who has spent a career navigating the state’s higher courts.

Thomas A. Campbell, judge of the Central District Court in Cortland, is running against Shelley Pratt, a Trumbull County Common Pleas Court magistrate serving under Sarah Kovoor.

Probate Court Judge James A. Fredericka, a Democrat, is unable to run for reelection because of the state’s age-limit law on judicial candidates.

The election is May 5. Early voting began Tuesday.

CAMPBELL

Campbell has served as judge of the Central District Court for more than 30 years. He was appointed to the position in 1995 by former Ohio Gov. George Voinovich and has since been elected to the court six times.

Campbell has practiced law for 37 years, focusing primarily on business law, estate planning and probate matters.

Campbell explained he was requested to run for the position when Judge Thomas Swift retired, but didn’t because Fredericka was running and “felt comfortable” with him at the helm.

However, that changed within the last year, when speaking amongst individuals in the Trumbull County Bar Association.

Campbell said the legal professionals “specifically requested” him to run, noting probate work was a large part of his private practice.

In what he considered one of the easier improvements as probate judge, Campbell said he’d like to upgrade the court’s online docket to provide actual images of legal filings.

“That person can simply call up the estate on the internet and take a look at the will themselves that was filed,” Campbell said. “They don’t need to make a trip down there and ask a clerk to pull that record and give them a copy.”

Campbell said records such as mental commitments or adoptions that are normally not public would, of course, remain unpublished, adding that other documents should be publicized — particularly to the people involved.

Campbell said he’d like to institute a resource for individuals not familiar with the probate process, noting an acquaintance who needs a “summary administration,” a simplified, faster probate process, for several small items relating to a relative.

“It’s helpful to give people an understanding of what is going to go on through the process; hopefully, the attorneys do a good job of explaining it to people,” Campbell said. “Typically, the attorney only deals with the fiduciary, either the executor or the administrator.”

Campbell said he’d also like to secure funding to create an assisted outpatient treatment program, something he said he sees as less restrictive and expensive.

He added that such programs have been implemented in other counties, but they were expensive.

“There are grants available from the state, specifically for such programs; I would pursue those,” Campbell said. “I would also look at perhaps partnering with the Trumbull County Mental Health and Recovery Board to see if there is some room between us to cooperatively approach this project.”

Campbell addressed his verdict regarding an October 2024 vehicular homicide case. Cortland resident Anthony Marble-Salem, then 18, was driving a 2021 Audi A7 and rear-ended a 2015 Ford Escape driven by Nicholas Stoian, 38, of Cortland. Stoian was killed.

Marble-Salem pleaded guilty to the charge and served two weeks in the Trumbull County jail.

Campbell said Marble-Salem wasn’t speeding, drinking or on a handheld device, which is why he was charged with a misdemeanor in the first place, adding that it was a routine accident that, in the case that no one dies, results in a small fine and court costs.

“Imposing any more jail than that on the circumstance where this young man made a terrible mistake, but only a mistake, it wasn’t some egregious, terrible act, intentional act,” Campbell said. “To impose any more jail time than I did would be punitive and would have achieved no good, valid purpose.”

PRATT

Pratt, who has served as a magistrate under Kovoor since January 2025, has 27 years of legal experience across county borders.

She previously worked for Northeast Ohio Legal Services before joining the Ohio Public Defender’s Office. In 2005, she began working for the Ashtabula County Prosecutor’s Office, handling appeals before the 11th District Court of Appeals and the Ohio Supreme Court.

Pratt said she’s dedicated her entire career to protecting people and wishes to continue doing so.

“Based on some life experiences, I have been drawn to probate court, because it’s a court of protection — not just the wishes of the deceased in trust and estate,” Pratt said. “But it protects mentally ill seniors, veterans — vulnerable people in our communities, specifically seniors.”

Pratt said she’d like to establish a hotline where people can report abuses, specifically of senior citizens in skilled nursing care.

“As a probate court, I would see that these instances are investigated and reviewed, and should there be some substance to the allegations,” Pratt said. “I will see through every way that I can as a probate judge, that action is taken against these individuals.”

Pratt said it might not always be under the guidance of the probate court, adding it’s a solvable problem if the community comes together.

Pratt said the county has a veterans and senior assistance program, both of which she would “welcome to continue,” noting the county doesn’t have a veterans court — something she considers important.

Pratt, who noted that respectfully treating everyone coming through her courtroom was a priority on her candidate questionnaire, explained that many people who deal with the court don’t feel heard.

“Especially people who come in pro se; I don’t want anyone to leave, if I’m elected to leave my court feeling as if they weren’t heard,” Pratt said. “As a magistrate, I deal with pro se individuals a lot in these civil cases, and I try my best to give everybody an opportunity to be heard, and that’s very important to me.”

“I know court can be a scary place, and a lot of times you’re coming to court when this is a very important decision in your life,” she added.

Regarding any perceived experience gap between her and Campbell, Pratt said she has about 30 years of legal experience, considering the opportunities she took advantage of through law school.

“You look at the Trumbull County Probate Court docket, you look at any probate court docket in the state — you’re not going to find cases filed in my name,” Pratt said. “I have not filed a case in probate court. I’m perfectly willing to admit that, but I have collaborated on cases that were filed in probate court.”

Pratt said the variety of courts in which she has practiced demonstrates her ability to adapt, noting more than 100 cases in which she’s filed or been on the counsel of in the state.

“If I am elected, I will be ready to serve as probate judge on the first day; I will do my due diligence, I will learn what I need to learn and I will be ready to go,” Pratt said.