The Hon. James S. Rapp (Ret.) served as a judge for the Probate and Juvenile Division of the Hardin County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio. Rapp initially joined the bench in 1991. He retired on December 31, 2012.
Prior to his appointment, Rapp presided as a judge for the Hardin County Municipal Court, a position he held since 1987. Before that, he was the Prosecuting Attorney for the Hardin County Prosecutor’s Office (1981 to 1986).
Rapp earned a bachelor’s degree in American Studies from Bowling Green State University in 1972. He then completed a J.D. at Ohio Northern University, Claude W. Pettit College of Law in 1976.
After graduating from law school, Rapp entered into private practice, working as a partner at Faulkner & Rapp. He handled corporate, contract, domestic relations, personal injury, probate and real property litigation.
His memberships have included the Ohio Judicial Conference, the Ohio Association of Juvenile Court Judges (president), the Ohio Courts Futures Commission, and the Ohio Supreme Court Commission on Rules of Superintendence. He also sat on the Board of Trustees of the North Central Ohio Rehabilitation Center (chair), the Ohio RECLAIM Advisory Committee (vice-chair), the Board of Trustees of the Logan County Detention Center, and the Advisory Board of the Ohio Work Group to Keep Children Alcohol Free.
He is registered as a Republican.