Candidate Details
- Residence
Cincinnati - Website
http:// - Age
57 - Occupation
Judge - Education
J.D. from the University of Cincinnati College of Law - Work Experience
Mental Health Magistrate from March 2020-March 2021; Estate Planning/Family Law Attorney since 1995; Opera Singer prior to law - Family
Widow of Judge Dennis S. Helmick; 2 Children; 3 grandchildren - Affiliations
Catholic/Hispanic Chamber of Commerce/Su Casa/Cincinnati Bar Association/Ohio State Bar Association - Endorsements
Republican Party; Fraternal Order of Police, Queen City Lodge #69 - Bar Association Ratings
N/A
Question 1
List your judicial experience (courts and years)
March 2021-Present: April 9th, 2021 - present ~ I have presided over thousands of proceedings (including arraignments, pleas, trials, hearings, motions, probation violations, bond reductions, discovery motions, civil matters, and weddings). March 2020 - March 2021 ~ Presided over the Hamilton County Probate Mental Health Docket as a Magistrate during the Covid-19 Pandemic. I handled over 900 cases.
Question 2
What non-judicial legal experience qualifies you to be a judge?
For 25 years, I have handled dissolutions, divorces, custody hearings, child support orders, juvenile court matters, as well as handled a multitude of estates and probate cases. In municipal court, I see good people that have made mistakes, that have gone astray, that need a second chance. As an attorney in private practice, I counseled my clients through a difficult legal process. As a judge, I am directly able to assist those people who need assistance, and I fashion sentences with compassion and fairness to enable defendants to change their own lives. When I look into a defendant's eyes, I want them to know they are being heard, being treated with dignity, and being offered a chance to rewrite their next chapter.
Question 3
Why are you running for this particular court seat?
After serving as a Magistrate for the Mental Health Court, I realized I could do more and make a greater impact in Municipal Court. Municipal Court is a high volume court. It requires incredible organization, quick wit, a sense of humor, a profound depth of fairness, and hard-lived compassion. I have the ability, the desire, and 25 years of legal experience to handle these massive dockets, listen and understand with compassion, and tailor a decision to the person appearing before me. Being Hispanic, as an underrepresented minority, I know what it feels like to be unheard and overlooked. I understand the pain of being pre-judged. I will never allow anyone to feel like that in my court. For these reasons, I respectfully ask for your vote.