Both the first women on the bench in their respective courts, but their similarities go farther than that. Now they’re setting the bar for the future of Allen County.
2019 marked the first time a woman was named judge in Allen County Common Pleas Court when Terri Kohlrieser stepped into the role. But before her, the door was opened when Judge Tammie Hursh was appointed to the bench in 2014 as the first woman judge in Allen County and Lima Municipal Court.
Hursh then was elected for a full term in 2015. Hursh and Kohlrieser never took the job to make history. Although a nice accolade, it was more about filling needs, they both noticed, in the community.
"My hope is that society in general looks at the person and not their appearance, their gender, their ethnicity, their race, anything like that and looks at whether they’re competent to do a job and whether or not they’re going to benefit the community," said Hursh.
Sure enough, judgeship was never what either set out to do after law school. The two women in their own minds just wanted to be the best they could be.
"It was never a goal of mine, to be judge," Kohlrieser said. "My goal, as far as work, has always been just to do a good job. A job I can be proud of that I feel I can make a difference. When I lay my head on my pillow at night I can be content with what I’ve done and happy with what I’ve done."
"I always wanted to be the best attorney I could be," Hursh said. "To represent my clients well, whether it be the state or private individuals. And to do good work in the community, basically that was the goal."
Being the first in their positions brings new challenges. Kohlrieser said as women they are susceptible to different criticism then male judges might be. But being a woman can swing in her favor as well.
"I think it makes many defendants more comfortable because I am a woman and I come with those mom qualities," said Kohlrieser. "At least they seem to be comfortable, more forthcoming with me. And whether that's woman or just my demeanor in general, I don’t know."
Hursh faced criticism early in her career but found a way through it.
"You just have to stick up for yourself, know why you’re there," said Hursh. "You’re there to represent a client. If you can’t get respect from the other attorney, it doesn’t really matter. You go into court and you try your case. You just do your job and you do it to the best of your ability and you try to out-work your opponent."
Hursh said she’s happy where she is and has no plans to climb higher. Kohlrieser added the same sentiment and said you never know things could change.
