Office: Hamilton County Municipal Court
Age: 61
Residence: Loveland, OH
Email: heathersrussell123@gmail.com
Website: www.judgeheatherrussell.com
@keepJudgeHeatherSRussell
@JudgeHeatherrussell
Occupation: Judge
Education: Miami U of Ohio, A.B. French; B.A. International Studies (Cum Laude) UC College of Law, Urban Morgan Fellow
Work Experience: Hamilton County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney 1984-2001. Elected to Hamilton County Municipal Court for a term beginning Jan 2002, serving continuously to present
Family: Married since 1985 with 2 grown children.
Affiliations: Jewish, Life Member Hadassah, Ohio State Bar Assoc, Cincinnati Bar Assoc, American Judges Assoc, Ohio Assoc of Municipal Court Judges, Ohio Jury Management Association, Loveland Women’s Club
Endorsements: Hamilton County Republican Party(hamiltoncountyrepublicanparty.org, FOP Lodge 69 (www.fop69.org), Cincinnati AFL-CIO Labor Council, AFSCME, Cincinnati Right to Life (CRTLPAC.org)
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
Ohio Municipal Court District 5, Jan 2002-present, Hamilton county Municipal court’s Mental Health Court 2010-2014, Hamilton county Municipal Court’s CHANGE Court (Human Trafficking) 2014-present.
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge? Practiced 17 years in Domestic Relations, Juvenile, Municipal, Common Pleas courts: appeared before approximately 64 different judges for bench and jury trials and capital murder trials, trial preparation, research, writing
and arguing memoranda and pre trial motions, dealing with victims of violent crimes as well as non-represented defendants. Grand Jury Chief, directed decisions on whether to charge as a felony or a misdemeanor, or whether to ignore a charge; supervised the Grand Jury support staff and victims’ advocates, and made budget decisions for that division. Domestic Violence Advisory Committee for Cincinnati and Hamilton County; Chief Justice O’Connor appointee to the Ohio Supreme Court Domestic Violence Advisory Committee. Planning committee for Cincinnati Childrens’ Hospital’s Mayerson Center for Safe and Healthy Children; Tri-Health sexual assault trainer for SANE nurses.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
Why are you running for this particular court seat? Elected in a contested election in 2001, continuously re-elected. 35 years’ court experience. A good listener and problem solver; rarely appealed and even more rarely reversed. I know the law and follow changing the law over 35 years. 14 of my 17 years as a prosecutor involved major felony prosecutions, so I have a good perspective on the less serious cases in Municipal Court. I’ve built 35 years of relationships; I’m a good community resource; I’ve a unique perspective on domestic violence: I see batterers as victims of their upbringing and I’m interested in helping them gain insight into their behavior so that they don’t pass on bad behavior to their children, protects everyone. I presided over a Mental Health Court; created a specialty court for Human Trafficked victims who commit crimes. Recipient of the CBA’s Womens’ Committee “Judge Julia Stautberg Award” for exemplary leadership and professionalism in a female counsellor; UC College of Law’s “Distinguished Law Alumni Award”, and Ohio Crime Victim Justice Center’s “Model of Justice Award.” Awards from these non partisan groups inspire me to keep being the kind of judge you want on the bench.