Staff photo / Ed Runyan
Lynn Maro, Mahoning County prosecutor-elect, greets well-wishers Monday in the rotunda of the Mahoning County Courthouse after her swearing-in ceremony.

YOUNGSTOWN — Longtime defense attorney Lynn Maro on Monday introduced the people she has selected to serve as her top assistants after she took the oath of office to serve as Mahoning County prosecutor early next month.

They are Kathi McNabb Welsh, who will be chief of the civil division after a long career as chief deputy Mahoning County Clerk of Courts, and Jennifer Robbins, who will be head of the newly devised juvenile division of the prosecutor’s office.

The third member of her team is John Juhasz, who will be chief of the criminal division. He is a longtime defense attorney who has worked closely with Maro in the past.

“One thing I have seen over the last 25 years is a significant change in juvenile crime and issues with juveniles through Children Services,” Maro said in talking about changes she and Robbins will make in juvenile matters. Robbins previously worked in private practice.

Maro said the three “are all known for their work ethic, their integrity, their commitment to the law and — and I gotta tell you everybody who has given me feedback on this selection, they are excited to work with these individuals, because not only are they good attorneys committed to our justice system, all three of them are good people with honesty and integrity, and I’m proud to call the three of them my friends.”

Maro noted that a large number of employees of the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s office were in attendance at the ceremony and said, “There is a very talented staff at the county prosecutor’s office.” She said she is honored by those who sent the letters back stating that they want to remain employed there, “promoting some of the goals of the office.”

Among the people Maro recognized in her remarks were law enforcement officers.

She talked during the campaign about working more closely with law enforcement and giving more support to their work, and she renewed that commitment Monday.

Maro said she continues to focus on several other issues she brought up during the campaign. One is the conviction rate in murder cases in Mahoning County.

“If you were charged with murder over the last four years, we were only getting life sentences in 24% of those cases,” she said. “Every other county, including those that have double the murder rate, were double or triple that conviction rate for life offenses,” Maro said. “We’re going to increase that conviction rate for life sentences on murder cases,” she said.

The dismissal rate in Mahoning County criminal cases is eight to 10%, and “every other county was 25% to 50% lower than that,” she said. “We’re going to work on changing that dismissal rate and lowering it to be more consistent.”

She said one way that will happen is by utilizing the grand jury system “more efficiently and more effectively in bringing charges and prosecuting charges.”

Mahoning County Common Pleas Court Judge John Durkin, who administered the oath of office to Maro, told the large gathering of people in attendance, “If you know Lynn Maro, you know she is going to do everything that she can to help, whether it’s for a family, a friend, a client, a court or our community.

“She is going to — no matter the personal sacrifice — put forth more of herself into helping someone than almost anyone else that I know,” he said.

“Her compassion, her experience, her work ethic and her character make her uniquely qualified to serve in this position. And we are fortunate that she made this career choice and will serve as our next Mahoning County prosecutor,” he said.

Maro mentioned in her remarks that her mother, Mary Jane, 95, was in attendance and said, “My mom and dad instilled in all seven of their children an amazing work ethic, an amazing commitment to making this planet better than what we found it.”

“As the youngest, I think being a lawyer was the only option I had,” she said to laughter. “To defend myself, to advocate, to protect myself from being sucked into that Hoover sweeper when I was 3 years old.”

She introduced her family and said, “I can’t apologize for all the times I wasn’t there because a jury was out or there was a case that needed to be prepped or perhaps one more case I could find that would help a client.”

Maro mentioned that Ursuline High School, where she went to school, “will always be near and dear to my heart.”

She brought with her a thick folder that contained a brochure or ticket from events she attended during the 18 months she campaigned for county prosecutor.

She spoke with people at every event about what they want from their county prosecutor’s office, she said.

“Everyone wants to be able to be safe in their homes, to know their children are going to be OK, and to know that our community is a community where you can raise a family in safety and comfort and have a future,” she said.

She said those desires are “factored into what I want to do as your next county prosecutor.”

Maro, a Republican, defeated incumbent Prosecutor Gina DeGenova by 818 votes, 0.76 of a percent, in the Nov. 5 election, according to complete and official results. DeGenova served as county prosecutor for two years after her boss, Paul Gains, retired two years ago.