Allen County Common Pleas court Judge Richard Warren won't be off the bench long, if at all, when he retires at the end of the year.
Your News Now has learned that Judge Richard Warren has been hired as the next Lima Municipal Court Magistrate to replace David Cheney, who ironically is replacing Warren on the bench after he is officially elected to the seat in November.
Warren was forced to retire because of the states age restriction which is 70 years of age.
The magistrates position is not covered by that law.
Municipal Court Judges William Lauber and Ric Workman interviewed 6 candidates who applied for the position and Judge Lauber says Warren was the clear choice.
It was no secret Judge Warren wanted to run for another term but the defeat of State Issue One in 2011 didn't allow for that.
If passed, it would have raised the age limit for judges from age 70 to 75.
We asked Judge Lauber if he was concerned about possible public perception that this was a political flip flopping of jobs.
Also applying for the position, Public Defender Mike Short, local attorneys Bob Leonard, Larry Huffman and Jerry Pitts, and Juvenile court Magistrate Todd Kohlreiser.
Warren's position is full-time. He will be paid 65-thousand dollars a year, a little more than half of what he makes now. Warren has been on the bench since 1989.
