Rinkenberger named Porter County Juvenile Court magistrate

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Updated: March 24, 2012 9:01AM

VALPARAISO — Porter County Attorney Gwenn Rinkenberger will replace retiring Magistrate Edward Nemeth as head of Porter County Juvenile Court on March 15.

“It’s something I always wanted to do. It’s something I went to undergraduate school and law school for,” said Rinkenberger, who worked as a juvenile probation officer in Lake County before going to law school.

Circuit Court Judge Mary R. Harper, who oversees the juvenile court system, announced the appointment Wednesday, stating she chose Rinkenberger out of the 15 local lawyers who applied, six of whom she interviewed.

“Rinkenberger stood out with qualifications that include high level academic performance, great intelligence, demonstrated maturity (and) the ability to multi-task,” Harper stated by email.

Rinkenberger served as Porter County attorney for 16 years, replacing Bob Welsh in May 1995.

Before that, she worked in the federal court system for the first seven years of her legal career then moved on to chief deputy prosecuting attorney for Porter County.