Lisa Allen

(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years)
Magistrate, Hamilton County Municipal Court 2000-2003. Judge, Hamilton County Municipal Court 2003-present. Administrative and Presiding Judge, Hamilton County Municipal Court 2010-2011. In addition to my regular duties as a judge, I also have presided over the Hamilton County Mental Health Court for the last 8 years. In In 2013 I was honored to receive the Award in Excellence in Mental Health/Criminal Justice from NAMI Hamilton County

(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
Before assuming the bench, I served the City of Cincinnati as an assistant prosecuting attorney. As an assistant prosecutor, I participated in thousands of bench trials, jury trials, and motion hearings. I have 32 years of experience both as an advocate and for the last 13 years as a Judge. As an assistant prosecuting attorney I worked daily with victims of crime and law enforcement officers. I also worked with community groups seeking solutions to their neighborhood issues. I was lead attorney in the first \”shut down\” of a problem bar in Findlay Market in 1999. I worked closely with the Findlay Market community and Cincinnati Police in a months long process which ended successfully in closing the Elder Café which had served as a haven for drugs and violent crime. This was the first application of the nuisance laws in the City of Cincinnati to close a nuisance business.

(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
Judges serve an important civic role. I believe that it is important that Judges who are responsible for fairly and effectively administering justice in our community have the background and experience to do so. Knowing when to be tough and when to be compassionate is not something that can be learned in a class-room or from a book. Knowing when to be tough and when to be compassionate comes from experience. I have over 13 years of experience on the bench, this \”on the job\” training has helped me to know how to approach different situations that arise in the court room. My experience presiding over Mental Health Court has made me especially cognizant of the struggles faced by those who suffer from mental illness. Our jails are not equipped to accommodate mentally ill offenders. By forming a coalition with mental health providers, law enforcement, and the courts, we have been very successful in dealing with mentally ill offenders. My Mental Health Court team ensures that medication, counseling, housing and job training opportunities are made available to participants in Mental Health Court. The ultimate goal being that these offenders become law abiding and successful members of our community. The added bonus to this approach is that tax payer dollars are not used to house these individuals in our jail. As my professional history indicates, I have worked as a public servant for many years. It is my belief that each of us have a duty to our communities to do what we can to contribute to the betterment of our society. I am equipped to serve as a credit to the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas.