Ohio Bar honors Judge Patrick Carroll, Summit County Juvenile Court’s Multidisciplinary Representation Team led by Judge Linda Teodosio

In recognition of judicial excellence and innovation, Ohio State Bar Association 2024-2025 President Dan Griffith presented the 2024 Thomas J. Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence to Retired Lakewood Municipal Court Judge Patrick Carroll and the 2024 Innovative Court Programs and Practices Award to the Multidisciplinary Representation Team at the Summit County Juvenile Court, led by Judge Linda Teodosio. Both awards were presented as part of the Ohio Judicial Conference annual meeting at the Hilton Easton Columbus on Sept. 19.
 
Thomas J. Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence

The Moyer award was established in 2010 by the Ohio Bar in honor of the late Chief Justice, who was posthumously given the inaugural award. It seeks to recognize a current or former Ohio state or federal judge in the Moyer mold who displays outstanding qualities of judicial excellence including integrity, fairness, open-mindedness, knowledge of the law, professionalism, ethics, creativity, sound judgment, courage and decisiveness.
 
For this year’s selection committee, Judge Patrick Carroll checked all the boxes and more. Though he retired from the Lakewood Municipal Court in 2022 after more than 30 years of distinguished service on the bench, he continues to give back by sharing his knowledge and experience as one of Ohio’s most preeminent educators of fellow judges.
 
A lifelong learner and a lifelong resident of Lakewood, Judge Carroll graduated from the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, where he would later have an opportunity to serve as an adjunct professor. He began his career as a clerk to 8th District Court of Appeals Judge John Corrigan. Over the years, he served in private practice and as a prosecutor for Cuyahoga County, where his primary clients were the common pleas and juvenile courts and he advocated for judges in civil litigation cases.
 
It was in 1990 that he was appointed to the Lakewood Municipal Court. He was subsequently elected and re-elected for a total of six terms, earning a reputation for impartiality, professionalism and compassion. Judge Carroll was an early adopter as courts began to take a more proactive role in treating substance abuse. He counts his work with, and in support of defendants struggling with addiction as some of the most rewarding of his career.
 
While still a sitting judge, Carroll became a frequent presenter on behalf of the Ohio Judicial Conference, conducting 10 webinars over the course of eight months during the pandemic when in-person continuing legal education was not a possibility. He continues to serve on the committee to plan education for judges, as co-chair of the jury instructions committee and recently took on the role as Ohio Judicial Outreach Liaison to the American Bar Association, where he is drafting a monthly newsletter to educate colleagues about recent case law around impaired driving, alcohol and drugs.
 
“Judge Carroll is highly deserving of this recognition. Not only has he been an outstanding trial judge and public servant, but he continues to embody judicial excellence through his generosity of time, talent and knowledge that has helped countless fellow judges hone their craft," President Griffith said.   
 
Innovative Court Programs and Practices Award

The Innovative Court Programs and Practices Award, sponsored by the Ohio Bar Judicial Administration and Innovation Committee, seeks to highlight and bring greater visibility to exemplary programs in Ohio’s courts and to facilitate the transfer of those programs to other jurisdictions. Award submissions are evaluated on criteria including creativity, the newness of the program, its effectiveness and whether the program addresses significant issues that are regional in scope.
 
This year’s honoree, the Multidisciplinary Representation Team at the Summit County Juvenile Court, seeks to provide support and wrap-around services to parents who have lost custody of their children with an ultimate goal of safe and timely family reunification or permanency.

Led by Judge Linda Tucci Teodosio, the project started off as a pilot in 2021 with support from the Supreme Court of Ohio. Judge Teodosio’s court led the way and now many other counties have successfully adopted the same approach, including Clark, Cuyahoga, Erie, Stark and Wayne counties.
 
The multidisciplinary team includes a social worker, parent advocate and a defense lawyer, all of whom are working together to help parents navigate the legal system and get the support they need to have the best chance of getting their kids back. This can include substance abuse and mental health treatment, parenting classes as well as access to housing, transportation and employment services — all to provide a safer, more stable environment for the children and a fresh start for the parents. 
 
Judge Teodosio and her team have achieved a 58-percent success rate amongst those who have gone through the program. In real lives, that represents 28 children returned to their homes and 14 additional children in kinship care, which means they remained with family and were not placed in long-term foster care.
 
“Not only does Judge Teodosio’s team approach mean better outcomes for families and children, but it also saves taxpayers in the long run with fewer kids going into the foster care system,” President Griffith said. “This program is also innovative in the way inspires an important cultural shift, moving away from the perceived adversarial nature of custody cases into that of a supportive team atmosphere. That helps increase confidence in our courts overall.”   
 
About the Ohio State Bar Association: Founded in 1880, the Ohio Bar is the state’s largest legal network, representing attorneys, judges, legal professionals and law students who are committed to the highest standards in the practice of law. The Ohio Bar proudly serves its members and the public through its continued work to promote justice and advance the legal profession.

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