May, 2008

I am pleased to be your candidate for judge on the Ninth District Court of Appeals.  Qualified, experienced, and capable, I look forward to serving you, the 1.2 million residents of Lorain, Medina, Summit, and Wayne counties, with dignity, honor, and respect. 

By supporting me, you will be doing your utmost to promote and preserve the bedrock constitutional principle of an independent judiciary.

I received my Bachelor of Arts in Economics and my Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron.

I am admitted and qualified as an Attorney and Counselor of the Supreme Court of the United States.

I am admitted to the practice of law in all state courts in Ohio. 

I have appeared in the Ninth District Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of Ohio on brief no less than 250 times.

I have appeared on oral argument on scores of occasions before the Ninth District Court of Appeals, and on one occasion before the Supreme Court of Ohio.

As an assistant prosecuting attorney in the office of the Summit County Prosecutor, I worked exclusively on criminal appeals, appeals from the dispositional orders of the juvenile court concerning dependent, abused, and neglected children, as well as juvenile criminal offenders, and I had sole responsibility on behalf of the state for opposing petitions for post-conviction relief filed in the Summit County Common Pleas Court by prison inmates.

As a judicial clerk and a judicial attorney in the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, I researched legal issues and wrote judicial opinions and dispositions in all types of criminal and civil actions brought before our courts of common pleas.

As a mediator with the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, I had the privilege in over 500 civil cases of assisting parties in dispute to seek resolution of their conflicts short of a court trial.

I have served as a court-appointed arbitrator for the Summit County Court of Common Pleas, presiding over the action in approximately one-fourth of those hearings.

As a senior quality editor for LexisNexis, I read case law on a daily basis and provided editorial supervision to ensure that case law summaries prepared by my team of 50 attorneys comported with established editorial guidelines before they went online for our customers to use in their research.

I am a member of the Ohio State Bar Association and the Akron Bar Association, where I am a member of the Unauthorized Practice of Law Committee and the Investigative Sub-Committee of the Grievance Committee.

I have served as a certified instructor for both the Summit County Sheriff’s Academy and the Akron Police Academy.

I am greatly blessed with a wonderful wife and marriage and with three beautiful children. 

I served three terms on parish council for my parish, St. Vincent's, here in Akron. I served as president of the council for two years and as vice-president for three years.

I am a charter member of the Knights of Columbus Council 14054 and hold the office of Council Advocate.

I am a former member of the board of directors for Catholic Social Services of Summit County, Inc.

I am a member of the NRA.

I am a member of the Sons of the American Legion.

Election 2008 presents many important issues that will affect us all for many years to come.  Study up, get involved with candidates whom you support, and participate fully in this vital American process.  For the sake of our great Republic, take a stand and leave a mark for those who will follow! 

I thank you in advance for your support, and look forward to humbly and judiciously serving you for many years to come, pursuing the way forged by this court's great judges who have gone before.

I look forward to seeing you along the way.

Sincerely,

Bill

William D. Wellemeyer

Your Candidate for the Court of Appeals