Office: Hamilton County Municipal Court District 2
Age: 65
Residence: Cincinnati, OH
Email: attorneytyronekyates@fuse.net
Website: WWW.TYRONEKYATES.COM
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Occupation: Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge District 2 -since January, 2010
Education: B.A., History, University of Cincinnati, 1978. Juris Doctor, March 1981, University of Toledo College of Law, Certificate, Program of Instruction for Lawyers, Harvard Law School, 1986
Work Experience: Hamilton County Municipal Court Judge 1990-present, Ohio House of Representatives 2003-2010, 2000-2003 Trial Counsel, Hamilton County Public Defenders Office, 1990-1999 Cincinnati City Council
Affiliations: Vestry, St. Andrews Episcopal Church, Board Soteni International, Treasurer, The Argus Club, Cincinnati Bar Association, Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, Ohio State Bar Association, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc.
Endorsements: Hamilton County Democratic Party, Equality Cincinnati PAC, Ohio Enviornmental Council PAC, AFL-CIO Labor Council, Bold New Democracy
(1) List your judicial experience (courts and years):
I have been a Judge of the Hamilton County Municipal Court since 1990. In those 9 years, I have presided over numerous jury and bench trials which give a judge a great insight into the experience of jurors as they consider cases and citizens and people as they come before the court. Municipal Courts are courts of record whose jurisdiction is over criminal misdemeanor offenses, including drug possession and OVIs and civil matters, like financial disputes, up to 5,000.
(2) What about your non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
I began my legal career with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office in 1981, eventually being appointed an Assistant Attorney General in 1983. I served as an Ohio Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and an Ohio Assistant Attorney General for Workers Compensation where I gained a great deal of experience with jury trials and jury trial preparation, appellate practice in the 10th District Court of Appeals and I have argued 2 cases before the Ohio Supreme Court. In 1988 I joined the law firm of White, Getgey and Meyer Co. LPA where I performed general litigation services for our clients. I loved my experience in the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and at White, Getgey and Meyer. In 1990 I was appointed to Cincinnati City Council where I remained until 1999. While a Member of Council, I chaired the Law and Public Safety Committee for 4 years from 1995 through 1999. In 2000, I had the great fortune to joined the Hamilton County Public Defenders Office where I served as a Trial Counsel in the Juvenile Division until 2003. In 2003 I was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives where I served on many committees including serving as Chair of the Committee on Criminal Law and Chair of the Bi-cameral Prison Inspections Committee. As a result of that service I received the highest award given by the Ohio Department of Corrections, The Gold Star Award. Through many of my years in public service, I carried a private law practice focusing on Probate Law. All of these experiences combine to give you a wide range of experience with people. These experiences give you the sensitivity and human feeling to understand people’s problems and dilemmas and I have focused on being a problem solver dedicated to helping people.
(3) Why are you running for this particular court seat?
I am seeking re-election to the Hamilton County Municipal Court because I believe I can make a difference in the lives of the people who come before me and the cases I have to help solve and decide. We are facing a large opioid epidemic in Hamilton County and I strive to treat these challenges to people in a humane way that prioritizes effective treatment over harsh punishment and incarceration. There has been a wide debate over Bail settings for non violent misdemeanor defendants in the Hamilton County Municipal Court. I believe that I have been a leader in the Court in sharply reducing Bonds and Bail at initial hearings at Arraignment and in my Courtroom where warranted. As I look at the national economic landscape and the financial challenges that people face in Hamilton County, I am deeply sensitive to what ability or non ability that people have to bail and bond settings. Of course, where a defendant is a threat to others and public safety, especially persons with multiple OVIs or dangerous weapons offenses, that must be weighed appropriately-consistent with the strength of the criminal complaint, their prior record, and public safety. I feel my background in public life gives me a band of trusted public service across Cincinnati and Hamilton County to insure equal and fair and balanced judgement for the citizens of Hamilton County for the Hamilton County Municipal Court. Hamilton County and Cincinnati are in the middle of a development and housing boom. Many citizens are doing well and many are not. If order for the region, county and cities, villages, and townships to thrive, it is vital that all citizens, no matter what their background is, to feel when they enter the court system that they will be treated fairly. My charge is to uphold the law, interpret the law and to do justice, fairly. I put myself into the shoes of the people who face me every day and I try to shape sentences that restore victims to being whole again and defendants who return to society after punishment or treatment with improved chances of never coming back to court again.