Assignment commissioner and court administrator Angie Stevens is an integral part of the glue that keeps the Washington County Courthouse together and running smoothly.
Through her assignment commissioner duties she manages the entirety of the common pleas court's scheduling, balancing attorney and judge timetables to set the date and time of each court proceeding. As a court administrator she plans the courthouse's budget each year, including employee salaries.
Stevens said she originally got the job by chance.
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"In the beginning I worked for an attorney's office, a group of attorneys actually, and that was right out of high school," she said. "When I had my second kid, Tyler, I was just going to stay at home."
However, in 1991, a year after her son was born, Stevens' friend recommended her for a job as Washington County Common Pleas Judge Susan Boyer's secretary.
Stevens has been working at the courthouse ever since, gaining more and more responsibilities as time moved on, mirroring increases over the years in the court's docket size.
Fact Box
Angie Stevens
Age: 47.
Residence: Beverly.
Family: Husband, Doug; Children, Tyler, 21, and Danielle, 24.
Education: Fort Frye High School graduate.
"There are your downtimes but not very often anymore-back before we had the magistrate, we didn't have as many cases," Stevens said. The addition of the magistrate to the court years ago increased the amount of domestic cases for Stevens to schedule.
"I've seen (the docket) grown. It keeps growing and we get more cases," Stevens said. "For the last few years we've also been inundated with foreclosure cases."
That's a trend she has seen decreasing as of late, she said.
Stevens also must work with harmonizing the constantly shifting timetable of attorneys plus their clients with the flow of the other cases on her schedule.
"Sometimes I wish there were more hours in the day. We have very few attorneys and it's hard to get them available when you need them to be," Stevens said.
Despite the combination of the constantly changing schedule with the small amount of employees who actually work in the courthouse, Stevens says she enjoys her job and focuses on getting to know the people around her.
"I think my favorite part is interacting with the people and the attorneys and scheduling with them and their staff," Stevens said.
One can see Stevens' enjoyment of her job in the friendly atmosphere of her office as she interacts with her office neighbors, Judge Boyer and bailiff Renee Marshall.
"I have to be nice to her because she's the one who tells me what to do," Judge Boyer said, laughing. "She sets the schedule for the court, and keeps it on track."
Stevens enjoys the friendly environment, especially one in which she was allowed plenty of time to participate in her childrens' activities as they grew up.
"Not anymore, though," Stevens said, in reference to her son and daughter growing up and being out of the house. "All I want to do now is go on vacation."
The assignment commissioner has nine more years to go before she says she will consider retirement, or moving into a part-time position. When that happens, she'll most likely be spending time with her husband, Doug, and enjoying her hobbies.
"My 'extracurricular activities' include going to the beach and camping and cycling," Stevens said.
Until her retirement, though, Stevens will continue to be a valuable asset to the courthouse.
"She plays a pivotal role in day-to-day court function," Marshall said.
