It is with profound sadness that I share that Judge Mary Jane Trapp passed away unexpectedly on April 24, 2025. Judge Trapp had recently begun contributing to the blog. You can read her posts here and here

Her death is a tremendous loss to her friends, family, and the Ohio legal community. She leaves a legacy of service that few can match. It’s fitting that she had been selected to receive the Ohio State Bar Association’s John and Ginny Elam Pro Bono Award, which was awarded posthumously at the Association’s annual meeting earlier this month. You can watch the tribute to her here.

I last saw Judge Trapp the weekend before she passed. She spent the day judging The University of Akron School of Law’s 1L intramural moot court competition.

Photo of Charles Oldfield Charles Oldfield

Charles W. Oldfield is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of Legal Writing. Before joining the law school, he was an attorney at Green Haines Sgambati Co., L.P.A., and a law clerk in the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. The focus…

Charles W. Oldfield is an Associate Professor of Law and Director of Legal Writing. Before joining the law school, he was an attorney at Green Haines Sgambati Co., L.P.A., and a law clerk in the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals. The focus of his legal practice included appellate law, labor and employment law, and education law.  He has argued cases before several Ohio district courts of appeal, the Ohio Supreme Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  He is admitted to practice in Ohio, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

He is a graduate of The University of Akron School of Law (1999), magna cum laude, and Bluefield State College. He has served as President of The University of Akron School of Law Alumni Association Board of Directors and as an Akron Law trial team coach. He has taught seminars for the Ohio Association for Justice, Ohio Education Association, and Community Legal Aid.

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