Barberton Municipal Court Presiding Judge Christine L. Croce.

Barberton Municipal Court Presiding Judge Christine L. Croce.

The Barberton Municipal Court’s presiding judge was appointed by the governor on Friday to the Summit County Common Pleas Court. Judge Christine L. Croce will take the county bench the day before Thanksgiving.

She replaces retired Judge Judith L. Hunter. Judge Croce must run in the November 2014 general election to serve a full six-year term that begins February 10, 2015.

Judge Croce received her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Akron. She was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio on November 14, 1994. She was elected to the Barberton bench in 2011.

Judge Croce is a member of the Magic City Kiwanis and the Barberton Rotary. She also served as a volunteer instructor for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction from 2001 to 2009.

“I am very honored to have been appointed to the Summit County Common Pleas Court to fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Judy Hunter,” Judge Croce said. “I started my legal career prosecuting cases in Summit County Common Pleas Court and I am very excited to return there and continue to serve the residents of Summit County.”