Allen County Juvenile & Probate Court

Judge Todd E. Kohlrieser

The Honorable Todd E. Kohlrieser was elected as Judge of the Allen County Probate and Juvenile court, with his full term beginning February 9, 2021.  Prior to becoming Judge, he had served the Court as a Magistrate for 13 years.

Judge Kohlrieser is a graduate of Wapakoneta High School.  He is a graduate from the University of Toledo, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, with honors, in history in 1999, graduating magna cum laude.  He attended law school at Ohio Northern University and received his Juris Doctorate degree in 2002.

During his second and third years of law school, Judge Kohlrieser served as an intern at the Public Defender’s Office at Lima Municipal Court.  After graduating law school, Judge Kohlrieser went into general private practice at the Law Offices of Thomas Kuhn and Randy Reeves, focusing on credit card disputes, civil litigation, and criminal law.  Judge Kohlrieser was hired as an Assistant City Prosecutor for the City of Lima in 2003, and worked in that capacity for five years.  Judge Kohlrieser has been a Magistrate for the Allen County Court of Common Pleas, Juvenile Division, since his appointment in 2008, and became the Court’s Chief Magistrate in January of 2015.

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Philosophy on Juvenile Justice

The Court shall be responsible for providing fairness and equality to all persons who enter the legal system.  These are principles that helped in the establishment of our great nation, and which continue today in a free democratic society.  Once an individual enters the justice system and has been found to have violated the law, he or she must be held accountable for the wrong that has transpired, by fair and measured punishment.  The Court shall strive to rehabilitate juvenile offenders, while also ensuring the safety of our community.  The goal of the Allen County Juvenile Court shall be to craft the appropriate punishment and rehabilitative services, through the utilization of community resources and programs, in an effort to return the juvenile as a productive and contributing citizen of our community.

The staff of the Allen County Probate and Juvenile Court shall endeavor to perform their  duties with respect and professionalism for all with whom they come into contact, whether victim, offender, parent, professional, or witness.

Duties of the Probate Judge

According to the Ohio Association of Probate Judges, the Ohio Revised Code places over two hundred separate duties on the Probate Court. In general, the function and purpose of the Probate Court is to perform those powers and duties authorized by the Constitution of the State of Ohio and Chapter 2101 of the Ohio Revised Code. The types of cases handled by the Probate Court (the Court’s jurisdiction) are specified in Ohio Revised Code Section 2101.24. The following are some of the types of cases most frequently filed in the Probate Court of Allen County:

• Hear and administer estates, trusts, and guardianships of incompetents and minors;
• Issue marriage licenses and delayed and corrected birth certificates;
• Hear adoption proceedings, minor settlement cases, and civil commitment proceedings;
• Maintain records related to services (1) through (3) and other records as required by statute.

History of Allen County Juvenile Court

The first Juvenile Court in America was established in Cook County, Illinois, in 1889 by an Illinois law entitled “An Act to Regulate the Treatment and Control of Dependent and Neglected and Delinquent Children.”

In 1903, the State of Colorado established the Juvenile Court; and during the years of 1899 through 1904, California, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, OHIO, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin adopted and passed Juvenile Court laws.

In 1906, Allen County, Ohio, followed suit with the establishment of the first Allen County Juvenile Court, a part of the Probate Court, with the Honorable John N. Hutchinson serving as the first judge.