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Elect Becker for Trumbull common pleas judge

Chris Becker and Sarah Thomas Kovoor are vying to be the next Trumbull County Common Pleas Court judge. The winner of this race will replace Judge Andrew D. Logan, who cannot run for reelection because of Ohio’s age limit for judges.

The candidates are not strangers to local courtrooms, but both of them would be in their first roles on the bench if elected.

Becker has tried more cases than any attorney in Trumbull County over the past 25 years. He told this newspaper’s editorial board that one of the reasons he is running is that Trumbull County — with the forced retirement of Logan at the end of his current term — will have lost more than 75 years of judicial experience recently. Judge Peter J. Kontos and Judge W. Wyatt McKay also left the bench in recent years.

Becker said he learned from all three while arguing cases in front of them over the years.

Kovoor was a colleague of Becker’s from 1996 to 2001 when both were assistant prosecutors under Trumbull County Prosecutor Dennis Watkins. Kovoor has spent the past 23 years in private practice as a criminal and civil attorney. She told the editorial board she is running as an outsider.

“I’m not part of the system,” Kovoor said. “I’ll bring an independent, unbiased approach to the bench.”

She said she believes in fairness and is cognizant of growing discussion of judicial reforms.

Another point Kovoor stressed was Becker’s history of social media posts, including some with courtroom photos of defendants. She said Becker’s posts should disqualify him from the bench.

“It raises concerns when someone aspiring to be a judge has been involved in social media controversies that disparage people,” Kovoor said. “As a judge, your impartiality and judgment are critical, and that kind of behavior can undermine public trust.”

Becker’s conduct was reviewed by legal counsel for the Ohio Supreme Court after a complaint was filed by a California man.

In a letter dated March 31, 2021, assistant disciplinary Counsel Adam P. Bessler stated that Becker did not violate the Ohio Rules of Professional Conduct. With that, the state body dismissed a grievance made by Tim Tolka and closed the case. But Bessler stated in a letter to Tolka that Becker brought “shame and embarrassment to the legal profession.”

Becker addressed the issue during his endorsement interview.

“It wasn’t professional, and I’ve taken steps to ensure that I’m more careful,” he said. “I took diversity and inclusion classes at Purdue University, and it’s something I’ve worked on.”

Becker also said he has largely stepped away from social media, aside from campaigning, and plans to avoid it after the election.

That’s a good idea, both in terms of appearance and practicality. Insensitive and objectionable social media posts have never gotten anyone hired, but they’ve gotten more than a few people fired.

Watkins backed Becker during that controversy and has endorsed his first assistant prosecutor in this race.

Like Kovoor, Becker would be coming to the bench after more than two decades of working exclusively on one side of the law, and like his opponents, he said that experience will be a plus should he be elected.

Becker told the editorial board that he favors alternatives to incarceration, particularly the Targeted Community Alternatives to Prison program, which allows for probation options for low-level offenders. He also expressed interest in running the drug court, which was started in Trumbull County by Logan.

“The best thing that can happen is that I never see these people again, not because they’re locked away, but because they’ve turned their lives around,” Becker said. “Judge Logan created this program, and I think it’s done wonders for the community. I’d be honored to continue that legacy.”

We think Becker deserves the opportunity to make the transition from the prosecutor’s office to the bench. Kovoor also clearly knows the law, but much of her case to be elected seemed to be in presenting herself as an alternative to Becker.

But we found Becker to be contrite about his social media controversy and expect that he will keep his word about showing better judgment moving forward.

Becker can be sure that as closely as people were watching the out-of-court behavior of an assistant prosecutor, a judge will be under even more scrutiny.

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