One of two Democrat judges in Butler County, Roman began serving as an assistant prosecutor handling juvenile cases in 1983 under the late County Prosecutor John Holcomb, also a Democrat. She was appointed magistrate for juvenile court Judge David J. Niehaus in 2003 and remained in that position until the unexpected death of Niehaus in 2008, when she was appointed to his seat.
Romans was elected to that position in November 2008 where she had remained, winning re-election to the six-year term twice, before she could not seen re-election due to age limits.
The mother of three daughters and four grandchildren plans to remains active, possibly as a visiting judge.
Credit: Greg Lynch
Credit: Greg Lynch
“I don’t know what it is like not to work,” she said with a laugh, noting she was cleaning out her office that is full of items she has carted with her to various county offices he has occupied for nearly 40 years.
Daniel Phillips, 42, a native of Montgomery County growing up in the Englewood area, was sworn in last week during a ceremony at the Butler County Courthouse with his wife Sarah and two children Ellie, 5 and Sophie, 2, looking on.
He tried on the judicial robe from late father Stanley Phillips that was likely last worn in the 1980s when Stanley was a 2nd District Court of Appeals judge. The elder Phillips also served as a Montgomery County area court judge and Common Pleas judge in that county.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
After graduating from law school at the University of Cincinnati, Phillips was notified that he passed the bar on Halloween 2005 and started work as an assistant prosecutor in Butler County Juvenile Court three months later.
He also worked prosecuting cases in Butler County Area Court and most recently in Common Pleas Court assigned to Judge Keith Spaeth’s courtroom.
Phillips always had his sights set on a judgeship in juvenile court where he believes young lives can be changed.
“I wanted to be a juvenile court judge because that is where I can make a difference,” Phillips said. “As a prosecutor you put people in prison and you put people on probation and they are adults. As a juvenile court judge it is about saving, not punishing. Trying to save a child from committing a crime as an adult, trying to save a family unit if you can.”
Phillips has prosecuted multiple generational families starting in juvenile court up through common pleas.
“I would love to be able to break that cycle,” Phillips said.
The Phillips family lives in West Chester Twp., where Sarah Phillips is a pediatric psychologist.
Romans, one of seven children, came from a house where her parents were staunchly on opposite sides of political parties.
But politics did not divide the household and was left to the children as grown, intelligent adults to determine for themselves, she said.
“We didn’t argue over politics,” she said. “I feel so badly for people, especially the kids, when I hear family have been totally broken by politics.”
Romans said she has never felt treated differently by the other county judges, who are Republican.
“I don’t see it as a Republican or Democrat job. The voters hire us. We are here for families. To help them heal,” Romans said.
She chuckled remembering Holcomb, whose staff in the prosecutor’s office from both parties, saying “I don’t care what they are. As long as they are something and vote.”
That sums it up, she said.
Romans has been passionate about children’s issues and holding juvenile offenders accountable, but also providing resources and rehabilitation to make them future productive members of society.
She came to the office as a recession began, the proliferation of social media and the pandemic which she says has forever changed people creating difficulties for children.
“Kids have had a rough go if it, I believe,” Romans said. “But in most ways kids are still kids, the circumstances have just changed.”
Romans said her background growing up and her time as a classroom teacher were the perfect training ground for her time in the courtroom.
“When I came here as a teacher, I don’t think they thought I would last five minutes,” she said with a laugh. “I will be blunt, I would rather have my job than be in a classroom right now, ‘cause kids aren’t used to being in a classroom. I call it post-COVID syndrome and it pertains to not just children. A lot of people just have problems socially with others because we were locked up for so long.”
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