Cuyahoga County Councilman Taps 5 to Review Juvenile Court Issues

Members of Cuyahoga County Council’s Juvenile Court Advisory Subcommittee assembled for their first meeting this month, voicing concern over whether they’d be free to deeply probe the juvenile court’s practices.

Councilman Mike Gallagher, who chairs the council’s Public Safety & Justice Affairs committee, encouraged the new five-member committee to delve as deeply as needed but return with actionable legislative and budgetary recommendations.

Gallagher assembled the expert advisors following months of media reports and advocacy research on how Cuyahoga County leads Ohio in sending children, most of whom are Black, to adult court and prison through a process called bindover. The committee will formalize its areas of focus, but has already noted concern with bindovers and the juvenile court’s lopsided distribution of case assignments to certain private attorneys.


The committee’s inaugural members are:

• Juvenile Court Deputy Administrator Bridget Gibbons
• Jennifer Blumhagen Yarham, executive director of Applewood, the court’s largest contractor for the private placement of children and therapeutic services
• Retired Cleveland Police Commander Marvin Cross
• Former Common Pleas Judge Robert McClelland
• Retired Cleveland Municipal Court Judge Ronald Adrine

Cross expressed his skepticism, asking the council committee members if the juvenile court judges would accept their recommendations.

“From what I’m hearing, for lack of better words, it’s like everyone is in a pissing contest,” he said. “And that’s not going to help the kids.”

“I’m with Marvin,” said Adrine, who was elected to chair the committee. “I want us to … walk away from this process and say that we improved practice in Cuyahoga County and lowered the level of disparate outcomes … If we’re not going to be able to do that … I’ve got other things that I could spend my time on.”

Gibbons and Gallagher, who has spoken with Juvenile Court Administrative Judge Tom O’Malley, said the court is willing to cooperate. Gibbons is planning informational sessions on how the court operates for the next meeting on July 29.

This article was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.