GOP primary winner appointed Montgomery County Domestic Relations judge
A new judge has been appointed to the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, Domestic Relations Division after winning the Republican primary for the role.
Jennifer Petrella was appointed on Friday to fill the seat formerly held by Judge Denise Cross, and will take the position starting June 3.
Domestic Relations Court handles civil cases with issues related to divorce, spousal support, child custody, dating domestic violence and other matters that impact families.
She will need to run for election in November to retain the seat, but will be running unopposed since there was no Democratic candidate.
The judge’s seat opened up because Cross was term limited, but a release from the Supreme Court of Ohio said that Cross will retire.
Petrella most recently worked as an administrator for the Domestic Relations Court and a part-time domestic relations magistrate. Prior to that she also worked in the Montgomery County Juvenile Court as a director of court services and a chief deputy clerk. She also served as an adjunct professor at the University of Dayton.
Petrella received a bachelor’s degree from Wheeling Jesuit College and her juris doctorate from the University of Dayton.
When running in the primary, Petrella said that if elected she would continue working to raise awareness about resources in the court system for survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence and seeking solutions for prevention through mental health treatment.
She also said she would want to focus on partnerships with organizations that build career skills for young people.