PERRY COUNTY, Ohio (AVC News) — Retired Perry County judge Dean Wilson has received the Thomas J. Moyer Award for Judicial Excellence from the Ohio State Bar Association.
According to Court News Ohio, Wilson was presented with the award last week during the Ohio Judicial Conference’s annual meeting. The award honors judges who demonstrate qualities including integrity, fairness, knowledge of the law, professionalism, sound judgment and decisiveness.
Wilson served Perry County for 33 years on the Perry County Court and Perry County Municipal Court. The Ohio State Bar Association highlighted his work to improve access to the courts and his development of the Perry County New Directions Drug Court.
Wilson created the specialized drug court in response to substance-use issues in rural Ohio. The program launched in 2016 after Wilson formed an advisory committee and studied drug court practices. The bar association said the program had an 81% participant success rate during Wilson’s leadership.
“Judge Wilson has a profound love for the people of his county, the state of Ohio, and the legal profession,” bar association President Jan Allen Baughman said at the awards ceremony. “For decades, he has shown a commitment to fairness, innovation, and principled judicial service where everyone is treated with dignity and respect – all hallmarks of a great jurist. Judge Wilson has been an inspiration to me and countless others, and I am proud to recognize him with the Moyer Award this year.”
Wilson also has worked on driver’s license reinstatement programs and access to legal services in underserved communities. He served as president of the Ohio State Bar Association from 2022 to 2023 and continues to serve as a visiting judge in courts across Ohio.
