"I'm sure I've opened myself up for criticism," said Judge Frank Forchione. Some defendants have to turn in a book report. Attorneys and friends of the court can use the books as talking points and to learn life lessons.

CANTON The 55-year-old standing before Stark County Common Pleas Judge Frank Forchione had pleaded guilty to telecommunications harassment.

Forchione chided him for traumatizing a woman on Facebook with degrading comments. The defendant wouldn't be sentenced until March for the fifth-degree felony.

But the judge said it wasn't too early to send him a message, assigning the Canton man a book report. It has become Forchione's signature in select cases where he believes the offender could learn a lesson through reading.

Reaching down below his desk where he looked out over the courtroom, Forchione snagged one of his favorite books: "D-Day June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World World II" by Stephen E. Ambrose.

"I want a 10-page book report on D-Day and what effect you had on this young lady," he said.

"And it's going to be the best damn book report you ever write," said Forchione, his voice escalating. "I'm going to keep giving you books until you get the message to stay off Facebook and do something constructive with your life."

What started out as a practice reserved exclusively for defendants in particular criminal cases has expanded. Forchione is also known to give books to Stark County assistant prosecutors, private attorneys, court staff and personnel and attorneys with the Stark County Public Defender's Office.

During weekly pretrials, Forchione will sometimes call an attorney to the bench and hand them a book with a deadline of one or two months. World War II is a reoccurring subject. Other books are about history and sports. Then he'll meet informally with the recipient to discuss what insights or themes were gleaned from the literature.

Forchione takes a gentler tact with attorneys. No book report is assigned. Deadlines are flexible and not always met. Sometimes the judge razzes attorneys about not having completed the task. And Forchione said he only gives books to attorneys and court staff whom he believes would be interested in reading.

"I would never give a book to a lawyer I think would be annoyed by it," Forchione said of doubling as courthouse librarian. "I give them a book maybe to get their mind off the stressful job they have. If they don't read it, it doesn't upset me at all."

'We're running out of answers'

Of assigning books to defendants, the judge said he's "learned that maybe there's a better way to make an impact with young people. I think young people would be better off if they got off Facebook and put that face in a book.

"You try to get some of the young people to understand that soldiers their age were making sacrifices storming Omaha Beach and dodging bullets so we have the privileges we have today," Forchione said. "I think as judges we're running out of answers and I'm just trying to come up with a creative way to make an impact on them."

The judge said he's gotten the sense or has heard through "double hearsay" that not every book recipient appreciates what's become routine practice in his courtroom. "Some people think it's stupid and I'm sure I've opened myself up for criticism," he said.

Attorney Rick Pitinii applauds the unconventional approach.

"I appreciate the open mindedness in trying alternate sentencing," said Pitinii, who specializes in criminal defense work. "The cases he does it in make sense. He's trying to change people and I appreciate it. I think it's a good thing. He's not trying to do anything bad."

Love for books

Forchione said his penchant for distributing books began when he was the Canton city prosecutor. At Christmas, he would give books to his assistant prosecutors.

Among those early recipients was Kevin L'Hommedieu, who now serves as chief counsel in the Canton Law Department's civil division.

Forchone gifted him a whopper: "Truman" by David McCullough. 1,120 pages. He laughed at the memory.

L'Hommedieu admitted to flinching at the tome. "I'm a slow reader," he said. "But it's a classic book, it's a great book."

Another eight or nine books followed over the years. Deadline extensions were granted, L'Hommedieu said.

But "if you thought he was going to put it off and forget about it, that was not going to happen," he said. Discussing the books with Forchione was "almost like a book club between the two of you."

"He wanted you to learn things, to learn different point of views, to learn about different people," he said of Forchione.

The judge said his passion for reading was fostered in childhood when his mother gave him a book about President John F. Kennedy.

"I love just having a book in my hands," Forchione said, noting he uses his own money to purchase books he gives to defendants and attorneys. "I love the smell of it. I love carrying it with me. But what has happened is social media has become like a mistress. Some people would rather spend that half hour of their time reading what everybody else is doing rather than take advantage of the valuable information books can provide."

Forchione said he likes to share his love for reading.

"One defendant, he came up to me at Giant Eagle and said, 'I was mad at you when you gave me that book but when I was sitting in a jail cell, I realized you were the first person that ever gave me a book and maybe that you cared.'"

Handing out books

In late December, the judge handed out several books during pretrial hearings.

An attorney with the Stark County Public Defender's Office was presented a book about an American rowing team defeating a German crew in the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, "The Boys in the Boat."

"It's an incredible book," Forchione raved during the proceeding. "For the last 30 pages, get a glass of wine and relax. You're going to have trouble staying in your seat."

Then he handed a World War II-themed book to a private attorney who accepted it and promptly tucked it inside a briefcase. A book also was given to an intake officer for the Stark Regional Community Correction Center and staff member with the Stark County Pre-trial Services Program.

Next in his sights was Stark County Assistant Prosecutor Mark Ostrowski. "You're about due for another book, aren't you?" Forchione quipped before unveiling, "Coffin Corner Boys."

Ostrowski graciously accepted it.

He said he already enjoyed reading books about history and sports.

"I think there's a lesson to be learned from every book and he kind of wants us to learn lessons," Ostrowski said. "A lot of times, in this day and age, people are so much into their social media and not really interested in reading anymore."

"Coffin Corner Boys" tells the story of several American servicemen whose B-17 aircraft was shot down over Nazi-occupied France during World War II.

Ostrowski said the 320-page book impacted him: "The point of it is when you're having a rough day, it's nowhere near as rough as these 19 or 20-year-old kids in World War II."

Reach Ed at 330-580-8315 and ed.balint@cantonrep.com

On Twitter @ebalintREP