Colleen Mary O'Toole

Colleen O'Toole

Colleen Mary O’Toole is an Appellate Judge of the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals, first elected in 2004. Judge O’Toole left the Eleventh District at the end of her term in February 2011 and founded On Demand Interpretation Services, LLC, an entrepreneurial start up that provides certified interpretation in 170 languages and American sign-language to public entities and their support networks. In 2012 she was re-elected to the Eleventh District Court of Appeals.^[1]

Legal career

Judge O'Toole began her legal career in 1991 as a law clerk and a litigation and appellate attorney in the Cuyahoga County Public Defender's Office. After this, she worked as a litigation manager for the National Interstate Company. In 1995, she began working as counsel with the firm Kramer and Niermann, LPA. Then, in 1998, she opened her own "Law Offices of Colleen M. O'Toole". She has practiced in the areas of civil, criminal, corporate and family law. In 2004, she was elected to the Court of Appeals. She lost her re-election bid in 2010. She was then elected again to the bench in 2012.^[2] She has decided over 1500 cases 72 murders and authored over 500 opinions. She established a case management system which reduced backlog by 60% in the court of appeals. She advocated for efficiency and increased access to pro se litigants. Judge O’Toole is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. She has held memberships in the American, Ohio, Cleveland, Lake County and Geauga County Bar Associations and has been a member of the Cuyahoga County Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. She was an adjunct professor at John Carroll University, and presently serves as one for Kent State University.^[1]

Misconduct Violations

One month before the 2012 election, O'Toole was found guilty of two violations of the Ohio Code of Judicial Conduct. The Ohio Supreme Court fined the candidate after advertisements claiming she was a judge were deemed misleading to voters. (O'Toole previously served as a judge).[6] O'Toole was also found guilty of wearing a name badge that read "Judge 11th District Court of Appeals."^[3]

Personal

Colleen O’Toole enjoys angling, and lives on the Grand River with her husband, a marine veteran and NRA instructor, their three children one of whom is a foster child and their dog, Lucky O’Toole. She is licensed to carry a concealed weapon and enjoys target shooting.^[1]

References