Login | March 09, 2025
Judge Malek Oldfield on joining the Ohio Judicial College board
SHERRY KARABIN
Legal News Reporter
Published: March 7, 2025
The Ohio Supreme Court recently appointed Summit County Common Pleas Court Judge Joy Malek Oldfield to a three-year term on the board of trustees of the Ohio Judicial College.
The Judicial College, which is charged with advising the court on education matters for active and retired judges and magistrates and the college’s operations, consists of ten members—seven of whom are nominated by the various judicial associations in Ohio. The Ohio Association of Magistrates also recommends a member and the Ohio Supreme Court chief justice selects the other two.
Judge Oldfield was recommended by the Ohio Common Pleas Judges Association (OCPJA), where she’s served on the board of trustees since 2018 and as education committee chair since 2023.
“I’m proud to join the Judicial College’s board of trustees,” said Judge Oldfield, who started on Jan. 1, 2025. “As a member of the board I will have input on the quality of education that we receive as judges, including the training we provide during New Judge Orientation, a critical time for lawyers transitioning to the bench.
“I hope to add value to that education and look forward to collaborating with the other board members,” she said.
In an email, OCPJA President Monroe County Common Pleas Court Judge Julie Selmon stated, “Judge Oldfield is a remarkable judge. She is very active in the Common Pleas Judges Association. She is a trustee and has recently taken the lead as our education chair.
“She has done an exemplary job in this new role in a very short time. As a result, it was an easy decision for me and the board to submit her name to the Ohio Supreme Court to be a board member on the Ohio Judicial College.
“I am confident that Judge Oldfield will be a great asset to the Ohio Judicial College,” added Judge Selmon. “She always conducts herself professionally and passionately, and I’m certain she will serve at the highest level sharing her knowledge and insights.”
A native of Akron, Judge Oldfield received her bachelor’s degree in sociology with a concentration in criminology from John Carroll University and earned her juris doctor from The University of Akron School of Law in 2000.
Judge Oldfield spent the first 11 years of her legal career handling civil litigation, initially at Scanlon & Gearinger Co., and then with attorneys John Hill and Kevin Hardman at Hill Hardman Oldfield.
She left private practice to serve as a magistrate/judicial attorney in the general division of the Summit County Common Pleas Court in 2011 under then Common Pleas Court Judge Elinore Marsh Stormer (now Probate Court judge). That same year, she was elected to Akron Municipal Court.
While at Akron Municipal Court, Judge Oldfield served as the court’s administrative/presiding judge in 2015 and 2016 and also revamped and presided over the drug court from 2013-2016.
Judge Oldfield was elected to the common pleas court in November 2016 to fill the remainder of Judge Tom Parker’s term, who resigned to become a magistrate judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
She won a full term on the common pleas court bench in 2020 and was the court’s administrative judge from 2022-23.
Judge Oldfield has served as presiding judge of the common pleas court’s Turning Point Program since 2017.
The program is Summit County’s only adult felony drug court.
“Turning Point is a wonderful opportunity for people to regain stability and sobriety through involvement in the criminal justice system,” said Judge Oldfield. “I’m so proud of the work we do in that program.”
A member of the Akron Bar Association for 24 years, Judge Oldfield is an Akron Bar Foundation fellow. She is also a longtime member of the Ohio State Bar Association.
In addition to speaking at annual OCPJA conferences and at the Ohio Supreme Court’s New Judge Orientation, she presented at the All Rise national conference (formerly known as the National Association of Drug Court Professionals) in 2023 and 2024.
Judge Oldfield has also been a member of national panels for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA).
She’s been an adjunct professor at Akron Law since 2018, where she teaches Pretrial Advocacy and developed a course entitled Problem Solving Courts.
She continues to serve as an advisory board member for the Akron Community Foundation Women’s Endowment Fund, which she has done for about a decade and is a lifetime member of the NAACP.
Judge Oldfield lives in Summit County and has three daughters.
Judge Oldfield has received quite a few accolades over the years, including the Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award for Distinguished Service in the field of law and Akron Law’s John R. Quine Most Outstanding Adjunct Professor Award.
Most recently, she was presented with the OCPJA President’s Award of Excellence in 2023.
“I’m proud to serve the public as a common pleas judge and spend a lot of my time working to make our justice system a place of excellence,” said Judge Oldfield. “My appointment to the Judicial College is another step towards that goal.”