Third District Court of Appeals Judge Juergen Waldick

Third District Court of Appeals Judge Juergen Waldick

As a first-year law student, Judge Juergen Waldick sat in the back of Ohio Northern University’s moot courtroom with sights set on becoming a prosecutor.

Forty years later, he never imagined he would preside over the same courtroom, not only with decades of prosecuting experience, but as a judge on the Third District Court of Appeals. And as a judge who would be sitting at the state’s highest court in the coming weeks.

“I looked at the students, and I thought, ‘My gosh, I never would have dreamed that I would be sitting up here at any time in my career,’” said Judge Waldick, who was elected to the bench in 2022. “And certainly not on the Supreme Court by assignment.”

After graduating from Ohio Northern University Pettit College of Law in 1985, Judge Waldick briefly served as law director of Delphos and worked in private practice before joining a city prosecutor’s office. Nineteen years later, he was elected as the Allen County prosecutor, where he remained until joining the Third District.

His experience overseeing and prosecuting thousands of felony cases now translates to his new seat in the courtroom. Judge Waldick said this perspective, combined with the experience of the other Third District judges -- a one-time defense attorney, a former state legislator, and a past municipal judge --completes an appellate court team that covers nearly all areas of the law.

“When you’re a prosecutor, you really represent the victims, but you also represent the state of Ohio,” said Judge Waldick. “Being a judge is an extension of that. We are the real quality control for what happens on behalf of people in the state of Ohio.”

Whether on behalf of the state or his own community, Judge Waldick said he is always looking for opportunities to improve things and “leave wherever he is better than where he found it.” This philosophy doesn’t just guide him in his roles with many service organizations, but also in the sky, where he learned a new type of discipline while earning his pilot’s license.

“I think learning to fly makes you a more precise person – you have to be precise to avoid tragic results, and I think that bleeds over into what I do in the law,” said Judge Waldick. “We make sure that we’ve covered all the bases.”

On Tuesday, Judge Waldick sat in place of Justice Joseph T. Deters, who recused, in State v. Wogenstahl. The death penalty case questions the constitutionality of a law pertaining to jurisdiction after a man was charged with murder in Ohio when the victim’s body was found in Indiana. The Ohio Constitution gives the chief justice authority to select an appellate judge hear a Supreme Court case when a justice recuses.

Judge Waldick said it is an honor to be asked to sit on the Supreme Court only a year into his term with the Third District. He recognizes that even if his preparation for the case is the same as it is for a Third District case, the impact of his decision greatly differs.

“At the court of appeals, we rely upon Supreme Court opinions. In this case, if I’m sitting on the Supreme Court, unless there’s some precedent, I have to do some independent analysis that will become the law for other courts of appeals,” Waldick said. “It’s just an honor to be asked to do that.”