YOUNGSTOWN — Two Mahoning County assistant prosecutors are running in the May 5 Republican primary to replace retiring Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge John Durkin. Former Mahoning County Assistant Prosecutor J. Michael Thompson is running unopposed in the Democratic primary.

ANISSA MODARELLI

Anissa Modarelli, of Canfield, has spent a lot of time in recent years appearing before the judges of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. She has been the primary assistant prosecutor assigned to Durkin’s courtroom for about a year and has served as the felony drug court prosecutor run by Durkin since she came over to the main courthouse downtown to prosecute adult-level criminal cases. She served as assistant prosecutor in Mahoning County Juvenile Court before that.

A 1997 graduate of Capital University Law School, Modarelli has been an assistant Mahoning County prosecutor since 2000.

In campaign materials, she outlined three core priorities: promoting fairness, protecting public safety and ensuring the efficient administration of justice.

She stated: “My more than 26 years of experience as a common pleas courtroom prosecutor, combined with a steadfast commitment to integrity, respect for others and compassion have prepared me well to accomplish the goals I have outlined. My experiences have shaped my understanding of what our courts require to serve the public effectively and fairly.”

She stated that judicial temperament is crucial to being a judge and is something she says Durkin has demonstrated during his nearly three decades as a common pleas court judge.

She said the American Bar Association defines judicial temperament as “possessing compassion, decisiveness, open-mindedness, sensitivity, courtesy, patience, freedom from bias and a steadfast commitment to equal justice.” Modarelli stated that those qualities “are not aspirational in (Durkin’s) courtroom. They have been the standard (and) the standard I intend to continue to deliver to Mahoning County.”

She added, “Practicing law daily before the judge whose seat I seek to fill has given me a unique and invaluable perspective. I understand firsthand the responsibility, discipline and restraint required of the position. I have had the opportunity to observe the professionalism and integrity that define the bench in the Mahoning County Court of Common Pleas.”

She said she will treat every person who enters her courtroom “with dignity and respect. I will approach every case with an open mind, apply the law fairly and impartially and ensure that all parties are heard. I will demonstrate patience, courtesy, and compassion, while remaining decisive and faithful to the rule of law.

“These are values I have always embraced and they will guide me throughout this election and for the remainder of my career,” she stated.

DURKIN’S DRUG COURT

Durkin has served as common pleas court judge since February 1997 after working 14 years in general practice. He was elected four times as judge and never faced an opponent in any primary or general election in any of those elections.

He created the second felony drug court in the state in 1997 to give people charged with a felony drug offense the opportunity to attend weekly sessions with Durkin and a treatment team of counselors, prosecutors and defense attorneys to work on their sobriety with the goal of having their criminal charges dismissed if they complete the program successfully. There are now 165 drug courts in Ohio.

There have been more than 1,600 graduates of the Mahoning County drug court, which has had a recidivism rate of less than 9% for those graduates, Durkin has said. He has garnered statewide and national attention for his creation of the drug court.

Modarelli said Durkin’s drug court court program “is one of the most effective public safety tools in our county. It reduces recidivism, strengthens families, and addresses addiction, which can be the underlying driver of so much criminal behavior. I have seen firsthand that this program does not simply manage cases; it saves lives while making our community safer.”

She said she has committed to attending Rise 26, which she called “the world’s premier training conference on addiction, mental health, and justice innovation.” She said she believes “leadership requires continual education and a willingness to bring evidence-based practices back to Mahoning County to improve outcomes.”

She said the Mahoning County Common Pleas drug court “works because it balances accountability with treatment. It is structured, data-driven and focused on measurable results. Participants are held to high standards while receiving the resources necessary to achieve lasting recovery.”

She stated a vow to “protect and strengthen the partnerships that make (the drug) court successful, enhancing collaboration among probation officers, treatment providers, prosecutors, defense counsel, law enforcement, and community stakeholders.”

She said her appointment to the Ohio Supreme Court Juvenile Justice Subcommittee “has allowed me to build relationships with judges from every corner of Ohio. Those connections provide an invaluable network of knowledge and experience that I will continue to draw upon to ensure that our courtroom operates fairly, efficiently, and in accordance with the highest standards of the judiciary.”

She said she hopes to help establish a mentorship program for new attorneys and newly appointed judges, saying, “By supporting the next generation of legal professionals, we strengthen our courts and ensure that the administration of justice continues to improve for years to come.”

RALPH RIVERA

Ralph Rivera has worked for the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office since just after he passed the bar exam in 2007 and has worked as an assistant prosecutor the past 18 years, serving as assistant chief and chief of the criminal division from 2021 to 2025.

Though Rivera has tried cases in the common pleas and county courts, his service in handling appeals court cases in recent years is extensive, handling more than 750 appellate cases and other matters that are not appeals. Those cases were before the 7th District Court of Appeals, the Ohio Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court, according to information he supplied to The Vindicator.

He made oral arguments 12 times before the Ohio Supreme Court and more than 200 oral arguments before the 7th District Court of Appeals, having been “responsible for all post-trial capital defendants,” meaning cases that involved the possibility of the death penalty.

As an assistant prosecutor for the appellate division from 2007 to 2021, he was the sole prosecutor assigned to the appellate division to research, write and submit appeal merit briefs for criminal appeals, Rivera stated.

During his time as chief of the criminal division in 2023 and 2024 and assistant chief in 2021-22, Rivera oversaw the criminal division and implemented measures to ensure that the office’s criminal cases “ran effectively and efficiently,” he stated.

He administered office policies for the criminal division, including cases in common pleas court, the four county area courts and the juvenile court, supervising about 15 assistant prosecutors and 10 support staff. He also met regularly with law enforcement agencies across the county to discuss ongoing investigations, case developments and training opportunities, he stated.

Between 2007 and 2021, he was assigned to prosecute criminal cases in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He obtained trial convictions on attempted murder, felonious assault, aggravated robbery, kidnapping and robbery and resolved several cases through guilty or no-contest pleas, he stated.

He taught Constitutional Law as a part-time instructor two semesters in 2021 and 2022 at Youngstown State University. He is also a certified instructor for the Ohio Peace Officer Basic Training Program and has taught at the Youngstown State University Police Academy every semester since the fall of 2022.

A graduate of Ursuline High School who grew up in Campbell, Rivera now lives in Boardman with his wife and two children. He earned his law degree at Cleveland Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.

He has assisted the county prosecutor since 2021 in reviewing parole-eligible defendants and appeared before the Ohio State Parole Board at Board Parole hearings.

Since 2025, he has prosecuted criminal and traffic offenses in the Boardman and Canfield courts and assisted with criminal and traffic offenses in the Austintown court. He is spearheading a pretrial theft diversion program in the county courts.

He also handles preliminary hearings on felony cases that involve a determination by a judge on whether to bind the cases over to a county grand jury. And he handles prosecution of misdemeanor criminal cases in the Boardman and Canfield courts.

He meets regularly with law enforcement agencies including those in Boardman, Canfield and Beaver townships and Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office and Ohio State Highway Patrol to review and approve charges and discuss case developments.

RIVERA PRIORITIES

Rivera said his No. 1 priority is to maintain Durkin’s felony drug court, stating that “following in (Durkin’s) footsteps is a responsibility I do not take lightly, adding, “Programs like this ultimately lead to safer neighborhoods and stronger communities. I am running for this seat because I recognize the indispensable role that drug court plays in our social fabric.”

He said his second priority is to establish and maintain an efficient case management system. He stated, “Courts must operate efficiently while ensuring fairness. By more closely adhering to the Supreme Court of Ohio’s case management guidelines, we can reduce case backlogs and work toward having no more than 10% of cases exceed prescribed timelines.”

He said clear expectations should be established from the initial filing of an indictment or complaint, including firm deadlines for discovery and trial scheduling, to reduce unnecessary delays. This includes the court’s responsibility to issue timely decisions to all pre-trial motions and/or requests.

Priority No. 3 is increasing public trust through transparency and community engagement, Rivera stated. “One way to strengthen that trust is by making the legal system more transparent and understandable to the public. Engaging with civic organizations, neighborhood groups and high school government classes helps demystify the legal system and foster greater understanding of Mahoning County’s court system,” he stated.

“Transparency includes ensuring that the public knows how to access court information,” he said, adding that by using the Mahoning County Common Pleas Court online case-management system, citizens can review filings, track cases and access judicial decisions.” He said the public also needs to be taught that court proceedings are open to the public.

Rivera’s community activities include president and founding member of the Boardman Girls Golf Boosters, a founding member of the Steel Valley Storm Fastpitch team and a board member of Boardman Community Baseball.

J. MICHAEL THOMPSON

Attorney J. Michael Thompson is running unopposed in the Democrat primary for Durkin’s seat. The winner of the Republican primary will face Thompson in November.

Thompson served as a Mahoning County assistant prosecutor for seven years starting in 2005, handling “thousands of cases and hearings ranging from murder to drug possession,” according to his Committee to Elect J. Michael Thompson campaign page on the internet.

He is now a partner at the law firm of Henderson, Covington, Messenger, Newman & Thomas, appearing as a litigator in state and federal courts all over Ohio and other states, the campaign page states. He has served as president of Poland Village Council for the past six years.