Montgomery County Juvenile Court

Judge Capizzi was first elected Montgomery County Juvenile Court Judge in 2004. He previously served as an Acting Judge for Dayton Municipal Court from 1998-2002. Judge Capizzi, known as a workaholic, continues to maintain the enthusiasm and energy for the welfare of children that has been his trademark throughout his legal career.

Judge Capizzi was admitted to the Ohio and Federal Bars in 1979, receiving his J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law in 1979 and a B.A. from Saint Bonaventure University in 1976. He graduated from Leadership Dayton in 1989.

Judge Capizzi is President of the Ohio Juvenile Court Judges Association, serves on the Ohio Judicial Conference Executive Committee, the Ohio Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Case Management, and is Chairman of the Ohio Juvenile Judges Curriculum Committee.

Judge Capizzi serves as Vice Chair of the Audit Committee, Member on the Governance and Legislative Committees, Vice Chair of the Family Law Advisory Committee and as Trustee of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Association. In addition, Judge Capizzi represents the National Council on the United States Department of Justice Global Justice Information Sharing Committee (GAC) as a member of the Executive Steering Committee. . He was recently appointed as a founding member of the Global Strategic Solutions Working Group, served on the Global Outreach Working Group and as Chairman of the Global Privacy and Information Quality Working Group.

Judge Capizzi continues to serve as a Senior Judicial Fellow for the National Reclaiming Futures Project for which he was first appointed in 2004.

Judge Capizzi co-authored an article entitled A Model for Judicial Leadership, Juvenile and Family Court Journal, Summer 2006, Vol.57, and No.3, which addresses judges’ roles in communities’ responses to juvenile substance abuse concerns, and authored What You Need to Know About Privacy, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Protections for Courts, Future Trends in State Courts, 2012, published by the National Center for State Courts. He continues to teach at the Ohio Judicial College and lectures at state and national conferences focusing on judicial leadership, the role and responsibilities of guardians ad litem, privacy, substance abuse, truancy and mental health issues.

Judge Capizzi, prior to his judicial career, maintained a full-time law practice for over 25 years, specializing in juvenile, family, probate law and litigation. He retired from private practice in 2004 as a partner for over 16 years with the law firm of Harker, Capizzi & Hall. Judge Capizzi is well known within Ohio for having served Dayton, Ohio as a City of Dayton Commissioner from 1986-1998 and for spearheading the effort to bring the Dayton Dragons Professional Baseball Team to Southern Ohio.

Judge Capizzi has held numerous leadership positions in civic and professional associations. Nationally, he served as President of Neighborhoods, USA, and Chairman of the Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Committee of the National League of Cities, leading the national trend of neighborhood activists working in partnership with local political and business leaders to make their communities safe and livable. Within Ohio, he served on the Miami Valley Regional Transit Authority Board of Trustees and his civic and community leadership positions included many that focus on education, social and medical needs of children. Judge Capizzi served on the Board of Trustees of Daybreak, Kids Voting, Student Employment Encourages Kids, and East Dayton Optimists Club.