Kelly Linger

Kelly Linger

A new judge will soon be taking the bench in Columbiana County Municipal Court.

Governor Mike DeWine appointed Kelly Linger to fill an open seat previously held by Judge Katelyn Dickey. Judge Dickey recently resigned from the position upon her appointment to the Seventh District Court of Appeals.

Linger will leave her current role at the Columbiana County Prosecutor’s Office when she officially assumes office on July 23.This will not be her first time on the bench. From 2018 until 2019, Linger served as acting judge of the East Liverpool Municipal Court before it was absorbed into the Columbiana County Municipal Court.

Linger’s law career began in 2006 as an associate attorney for the law firm of Mark J. Obral and Associates after graduating from Cleveland Marshall College of Law.

In 2008, she became an attorney for the Columbiana County Criminal Defense League, Inc. She also served as president of the not-for-profit corporation, Columbiana County Defense League, from 2018 to 2021.

From 2014 to 2016, Linger worked in Wellsville as the assistant law director.

Additionally, she owned a general practice law firm from 2007 until 2022, focusing on criminal defense, family law, custody disputes, and estate planning.

Linger serves on the board of directors of the Columbiana County Memorial Park and is a member of the Columbiana County Bar Association. She is a 2001 graduate Kent State University with a bachelor's degree in psychology.