Judge Hunter’s Writ of Mandamus
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Patrick Fischer Refuses to Recuse Himself from Judge Tracie Hunter’s Case
Who Are We
The Coalition for a Just Hamilton County is a non-partisan collective promoting racial and gender fairness. We are concerned citizens, pastors, civil rights and community leaders, working together to promote accountable and fair governance and racial and gender equality. The Coalition meets every Monday night at 7:00pm via Zoom. We have no leadership structure. Our committees are composed of community members who are all leaders. We hope you will join us as we fight for Justice and a better Hamilton County.
Review Judge Hunter’s Objection to the Ohio Supreme Court
Disciplinary Counsel
Judge Tracie M. Hunter is the first and only African-American and Democratic Judge in the history of the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. She is the first African-American elected to the Court of Common Pleas absent an appointment or political party deal.
Judge Hunter’s judicial rulings changed Ohio law; Prosecutors must now turn over all critical evidence. She forced the juvenile court to change its entire reporting system and practices when she exposed that juvenile case statistics were being inaccurately reported and falsified to the Ohio Supreme Court.
In April 2013, Judge Hunter outlawed the routine shackling of juveniles in her courtroom. The Ohio Supreme Court followed suit in 2016 and shackling is no longer allowed in Ohio or Hamilton County. She reduced default judgments against parties by requiring the court to properly serve notice.
Judge Hunter was sued by the Enquirer and WCPO for not allowing the publishing of children’s faces and names. She was held in contempt for protecting 12-year-old children threatened by white supremacists. She ensured that children received fair hearings by ordering psychological and competency tests. Judge Hunter routinely challenged defense lawyers to effectively represent their clients in her courtroom.
Judge Hunter restored families and crafted specialized dispositions emphasizing education and vocational training to rehabilitate juveniles, reduce repeat offenders and successfully reintegrate juveniles into society. She hired African-Americans in key positions, including Magistrates and a Psychology Director. Judge Hunter’s 2010 election lawsuit changed Ohio law to ensure provisional votes are properly counted.
Grandson of a slave, son of a sharecropper and soldier in a segregated military unit, Charlie Watson became Cincinnati’s oldest freedom fighter when he joined The Coalition For A Just Hamilton County in 2014 at age 92. He would have turned 99 years old in May of 2021.
Although Mr. Watson did not cast his first vote in an election until 2008, when he voted for Barack Obama, at the age of 86, he spent every year of the rest of his life fighting for freedom, equality and justice.
Mr. Watson didn’t get involved in politics or civil rights until he joined the efforts to liberate Judge Tracie M. Hunter, Cincinnati’s first and only Democrat and African-American elected to the Juvenile Court of Hamilton County, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He attended every day of her six-week trial and learned more about law in six weeks than he learned his entire life. Mr. Watson became well-known when he vowed to engage in an act of civil disobedience to go to jail, when Judge Hunter was to be incarcerated when he was 94 years old.
To bring awareness to Judge Hunter’s unfair treatment, Mr. Watson decided to deck his car out with Justice for Judge Hunter signage on all sides, and a lighted sign on top. He drove that car in several parades, and to Columbus, Ohio around the Supreme Court and the State House to draw attention to Hunter’s unjust treatment. Mr. Watson vowed to continue fighting for the rest of his life, until she was exonerated, and he fought tirelessly for justice until he passed away peacefully in his sleep at home on March 25, 2021.