News

The Akron Municipal Court has two staff members slated to spearhead Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) Committees: Magistrate Thomas Bown and Chief Executive/Court Administrator Montrella S. Jackson.

Magistrate Bown has been appointed by incoming Ohio State Bar Association President Michelle Kranz to lead the OSBA’s Justice Administration and Innovation Committee this year. Attorney Jackson will lead the OSBA Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion after completing a three-year term on the OSBA Board of Governors. 

The Justice Administration and Innovation Committee of the OSBA is made up of lawyers, judges and other legal professionals who work together to improve Ohio’s legal institutions in order to ensure excellence in the legal profession and the administration of justice. This includes annual distribution of the OSBA’s Innovative Court Programs and Practices Award, which seeks to bring greater visibility to exemplary programs in Ohio's courts and to help facilitate their transfer to other jurisdictions.

The primary charge of the Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion (ACDI) is to enhance diversity in the legal profession and to promote equity for and among individuals in the association, the legal profession and the justice system as a whole. The council plans and helps set the OSBA’s priorities as it relates to inclusion, diversity and equity and advises the OSBA Board of Governors on pending legislation.

“We are proud to have two staff members willing to volunteer their time and share their expertise with others through the Ohio State Bar Association,” said Akron Municipal Court Administrative/Presiding Judge David Hamilton. “Attorney Jackson and Magistrate Bown will certainly make a positive impact.”

Attorney Jackson began her role as Court Administrator with the Akron Municipal Court in 2012 and Magistrate Bown joined the Akron Municipal Court in 2020.