Meet the candidate: Judge Richard Wright wants to support families through challenging times as judge of Licking County Common Pleas – Domestic Relations

Judge Richard Wright helps families get through the most difficult stages of their lives.

As the judge of the domestic relations division of the Licking County common pleas court for the past 18 years, he has seen more unusual family scenarios than most people could think of, from cases debating in-vitro fertilization rights for same-sex partnerships to cases about paternity tests taken before the child is born.

“I have the experience, the expertise,” Wright said during the WCLT Candidate Forum on Oct. 1, when asked why candidates should choose him in the upcoming election. “It certainly took a while for me to learn the job when I first got started, but I’ve got it down pretty good… I have a passion for the law and a passion for serving families that are going through a transition in their lives from married to divorced and going through domestic violence.”

Wright was elected in 2008, after a three-way contested race for the position. Since then, he’s run unopposed for the judgeship as a Republican in 2014 and 2020. This November, however, things are different. He is set to run against Democratic candidate Robert Essex, a lawyer with over 30 years of experience working with the Franklin County Public Defender’s Office.

The race is more complicated than meets the eye, though. In May, Judge David Branstool of the general division of the Licking County Common Pleas Court filed to run against Wright in this election because he did not want the race to be uncontested. However, Branstool did not want to run and filed for the race solely for the sake of preserving democracy. When Essex expressed interest in the judgeship, Branstool dropped out of the race.

“It has been unusual. A little disappointing,” said Wright about Branstool’s decision to file the paperwork then drop out of the race. However, he said nothing negative about opponent Essex.

“We ran into each other at [a] festival, introduced ourselves, and said hi and good luck, and that’s kind of where we left it,” Wright said. “I want to win, obviously, but I don’t have anything bad to say about the guy.”

Since then, they saw each other at the candidate forum, where they debated, both sharing why they would be a good fit for the job.

“Traditional Midwestern values and common sense are the values that I try to apply,” Wright said. “I’m not going to get drawn into a conservative versus moderate versus liberal debate.”

Wright grew up on a family farm that he still maintains, and attends a small Methodist church congregation. However, he said that he does not allow his personal beliefs to influence his judicial decisions.

“As a judge, I have to apply the facts,” he said at the candidate forum. “I have my background, my beliefs, but I have to make my decisions based on the law and the facts that are presented before me. And courts are reactive, not proactive. We can’t make the law, we just have to interpret it.”

At the forum, Wright was asked whether he would change anything in his next term or run the court differently.

“The current court system is working pretty good,” he responded. “We have a very highly qualified, dedicated staff of magistrates and staff that keep the court going. Licking County is growing. We’re large, diverse and becoming more diverse, so there are going to be challenges coming down the road.”

One of these challenges, Wright said, would be finding ways to interpret for people who do not speak English as their first language. Another challenge is self-represented litigants who file their own cases instead of having an attorney, which can cause difficulties with timeliness and accuracy.

Although he works in a field where many relationships are ending, Wright’s motto is “Stronger families. A brighter tomorrow.” Particularly for individuals who are separating who have children, he emphasizes working together for the sake of those children.

“It’s still stronger families, just not Mom and Dad together,” said Wright. “But it still should be a family unit moving forward… When they walk out of the courthouse, this part of their relationship is over, but [I] try to set a path for them to move forward in a positive way.”

On Election Day, Nov. 3, polls will be open 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Ella Kitchens writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.