Karen Lawson was elected Judge of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division on November 4, 2008. Judge Lawson took office on January 4, 2009. She made history in Lake County as the first woman judge to serve on the Juvenile Court bench.
Since taking the bench, Judge Lawson has accomplished many goals, and initiated a number of new programs. After much negotiation and collaboration with the Lake County Commissioners, she was able to successfully settle a lawsuit initiated by her successor between the Court and the County Commissioners. She streamlined the docket, and made the Court more efficient by creating the Juvenile Traffic Violations Bureau, which made it possible to reduce traffic court to just three days per week.
Judge Lawson created programs to help show the children that come through her Court that they can have a successful life that does not involve criminality. She taught the children how to successfully grow produce through the Court’s garden project, is keeping kids in school through the Court’s A-Ten-D program, is spending extra time with young drug offenders through the court’s innovative Achievement Docket, and she’s helping young girls deal with their self-esteem issues through the Court’s New Voice’s program. The Judge also brought in prominent speakers to motivate the children such as Lev Polyakin of the Cleveland Orchestra, and Lebron James’ manager and cofounder of LRMR Marketing, Randy Mims. In response to the difficult economic times, all of the new programs initiated by Judge Lawson have come while the Court’s budget has been shrinking, following Judge Lawson’s philosophy of getting the most out of every taxpayer dollar, and learning how to do more with less.
Judge Lawson has also sought to assist the local professional community by partnering with the Supreme Court of Ohio and Lake Erie College to bring cutting edge seminars to Lake County. Those seminars dealt with issues such as juvenile competency, mediation, and advanced diagnostic evaluations of juvenile offenders.
Before taking the bench, Karen Lawson practiced law for twenty-six years. She was a magistrate in Lake County Juvenile Court. Additionally, she served as Acting Judge for Painesville Municipal Court. Judge Lawson’s private practice was devoted primarily to family and juvenile law. She served as Guardian Ad Litem for hundreds of Lake County’s abused and neglected children. Her passion in her career was to help and protect children.
In May of 1995 Karen was chosen by Attorney General Betty D. Montgomery to lead her transition team for Northeast Ohio-coordinating 16 counties. Lawson supervised a staff of over 80 employees, handling 14 legal sections of the Attorney General’s Office including cases ranging from Capital Crimes, Correction Litigation, Consumer Law, Telemarketing Fraud, Medicaid Fraud, Environmental Law, and Workers’ Compensation.
Judge Lawson is probably best known to the residents of Lake County for her work as a Lake County Assistant Prosecutor while Congressman Steven C. LaTourette was the County Prosecutor. Lawson was assigned the responsibility of prosecuting Kirtland cult matriarch Alice Lundgren. Lawson convicted Lundgren, who is serving a sentence of 150 years to life. Lawson was also entrusted with the responsibility of prosecuting rape, sexual assault, and child abuse cases. In this capacity she successfully prosecuted dozens of criminals.
Judge Lawson began her legal career in 1982 serving as an assistant Lake County Public Defender.
Judge Lawson received her B.A. in Political Science from Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pa. She received her Juris Doctor from Cleveland Marshall College of Law in 1982. Judge Lawson was admitted to the Ohio Bar in 1982, the Federal Court for the Northern District of Ohio in May 1982 and the United States Supreme Court in May 1999.
Judge Lawson’s experience as an administrator, a tough criminal prosecutor, and a compassionate child advocate has prepared her to continue to serve the citizens of Lake County and the State of Ohio as the Juvenile Division Common Pleas Jurist.