Youngstown Municipal Court Judge Robert Douglas prepares to reti - 21 News Now, More Local News for Youngstown, Ohio -

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio - At 72-years-old and after serving nearly 15 years on the bench, the Honorable Robert A. Douglas, Jr. is retiring.

The Youngstown Municipal Court Judge known for his distinguished manner and signature bow ties says he's hanging up his robe on Tuesday because it's just the right time.

"Pretty much everything's been done except for one thing, and that's the better court facility. That was out of our control, and I kind of spear-headed that from the moment I got here. That was kind of a glaring problem as I saw it," Judge Douglas said.

Sitting in his office, taking a break from packing up his things, the judge says from his first week on the job he hit the ground running, and went to work to fix a court system that had a number of issues.

Under Judge Douglas' leadership, the court implemented a number of programs to improve court efficiency and safety, including video arraignments where prisoners make their initial appearance before the judge on a closed-circuit television from the jail instead of appearing in person in the courtroom.

"That was my first project," Judge Douglas said. "I think within that first week when I walked out there and I saw them bringing in that sea of orange, and bringing prisoners through the hallways, and in to the courtroom, and next to the visitors. When we had heated cases you could almost see the stress and anger passing between people. I thought it was the most crazy thing I had ever seen."

The judge says several violent incidents just outside of the courtroom still underscore the need to move Youngstown's Municipal Courts from an 83-year-old building into a more updated, safe and secure environment.

Douglas tells 21 News, "That potential is still here even with the security, even with one less judge. This building, this court, is not safe. It is not able to be designed to keep that separation that is critical for a court."

As he makes his exit, state lawmakers are hoping to make a change. They are introducing legislation this week to reduce the number of judges presiding over the Youngstown courts from three to two.

"It's hard to argue with the numbers. The population has been going down steadily for quite a while. For whatever reason, the number of cases has been diminishing not only here, but all over the state. Given that, the chief justice stepped in with a letter to the governor. I think that is going to make it a closed case. It's just a matter of time and doing the legislation for it to happen," Judge Douglas said.

But Douglas admits that with an increased work load for the two remaining judges and magistrate, some programs may have to be cut including a special program for people with a suspended license as well as the Veteran's Court.

When asked what cases had an impact on him. The judge says he was heavily criticized early on about whether the bond he set in two murder cases was too low. "I considered it to be very political. I was raked over the coals, and put on the front page of the newspapers, and had two opponents running against me that following year." Judge Douglas goes on to say, "In both of those cases, they didn't go anywhere. One they didn't have evidence, and the other got no-billed in the grand jury, so enough said."

Another court case that the judge found to be quite interesting, the 2008 case of animal abuse and cruelty at the High Caliber K-9 Kennel where authorities found seven dogs dead and 12 near starving and living in deplorable conditions. "If you Google my name, you'll find my name numerous places regarding that case. I had letters from all over the country, some outside of the U.S. about that case. Very emotional, and I respected that, and I found it to be quite interesting because I've had some other cases where people are really harmed, and I'm not diminishing what happened to the animals, but in particular domestic violence cases and nowhere near that type of attention or concern about victims," Douglas said.

In the High Caliber K-9 Kennel case, the judge imposed the stiffest sentence allowed by law. But in Ohio, the crimes were only misdemeanors. It's the case that's sparked the proposed legislation known as Nitro's Law.

But Judge Douglas says throughout it all he's really enjoyed serving the people. He says even those he's sent to jail see him on the street, say hello, and treat him with respect, "I'm very proud of my experience as a public servant, and I feel that's what I was carved out to be."