The

Nepotism and Cronyism runs deep in the Hamilton County Judicial System. Someone once said, Its
not what you know, its who you know. The ladder of success in Hamilton County Criminal Judicial
System is through the Prosecutors Office.
This list barely scratches the surface of inter-connected families and friends working in the court system.
What is the connection to the Prosecutors Office?
1. Leah Dinklelacker is an Assistant Prosecutor under Joe Deters. Her father Judge Patrick
Dinklelacker is a member of the Common Pleas Court, former Appeals Court Judge, and former
assistant prosecutor.
2. Christopher Lipps is an assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters, and the son of visiting Juvenile
Court Judge Thomas Lipps.
3. Kathleen Fischer is an assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters. Her father is First District Appeals
Court Judge Patrick Fischer.
4. Betsey Sunderman is an assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters. Her father is former Municipal
Court Judge and assistant prosecutor Howard Sunderman.
5. First District Appeals Court Judge Sylvia Hendon is the mother-in-law of Joe Deters.
6. First District Appeals Court Judge Patrick Dewine is the son of State Attorney General Mike
Dewine.
7. First District Appeals Court Judge Russell Mock is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe
Deters.
8. Appeals Court Judge Penelope Cunningham is a former assistant prosecutor and wife of 700
WLW talk show host Bill Cunningham.
9. Retired Judge Norbert Nadel is a former assistant prosecutor and has a son that currently works
in the county services.
10. Municipal Court Judge Jon Henry Sieve is the brother of Appeals Court Judge Sylvia Sieve-
Hendon
11. Probate Court Judge Ted Winkler is the husband of Hamilton County Clerk of Court Tracey
Winkler and the brother of Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Robert Winkler. Both,
Ted and Robert are former assistant prosecutors. Ralph Winkler senior (father) is a retired judge
of the Common Pleas Court.
12. Judge Megan Shanahan is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters
13. Judge Berkowitz is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters
14. Judge Bernie Bouchard is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters. He was a Juvenile
Court Magistrate.
15. Juvenile Court Magistrate Roger Bouchard is the brother of Judge Bernie Bouchard.
16. Judge Brad Greenberg is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters. He was a Juvenile
Court Magistrate.
17. Judge Curt Kissinger is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters.
18. Judge Melissa Powers is a former assistant prosecutor under Joe Deters
19. Judge Heather Russell is a former prosecutor under Mike Allen and Joe Deters.
20. Judge Lisa Allen is the wife of former Hamilton County prosecutor Mike Allen.

21. Ray Faller, the head of the Public Defenders Office is a former member of the prosecutors
office under Joe Deters.
22. Constance Murdock, worked as a Public Defender and an Assistant Prosecutor before becoming
a Juvenile Court Magistrate. Her father in-law is Norman Murdock, who was a County
Commissioner and a Judge (part of a big law suit).