An acting Middletown Municipal Court judge was appointed to the Butler County Common Pleas Court on Feb. 3 by Gov. John R. Kasich.

J. Gregory Howard will assume office on Feb. 27 and must win in the November 2018 general election to retain the seat for the full six-year term commencing Jan. 3, 2019. Howard replaces Judge Craig Hedric, who died Nov. 13, 2016.

Howard received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky and his law degree from the Northern Kentucky University Salmon P. Chase College of Law. He is a member of the Ohio Bar Association, former president of the Butler County Bar Association, and former president of the Mid-Miami Valley Bar Association. He was admitted to the practice of law in Ohio on Nov. 16, 1987.

In addition to serving as an acting judge since 2008, Howard also served as a referee in Butler County Probate Court from 1988 to 1990. As a solo practitioner, Howard’s practice focuses on family law and criminal defense matters.