CINCINNATI — After two violent attacks involving teenagers were caught on camera, Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers said she feels some judges in Hamilton County are "failing miserably at their job."
Powers described those judges as more like defense attorneys than neutral parties.
"I think they've lost their way, they don't know they're neutral, they should be neutral, and deciding, and there's a clear bias," Powers said. "I think that some of these judges are showing in the courtroom, and how they're handling their cases."
On Jan. 23, surveillance cameras caught a violent assault near the corner of 6th Street and Walnut Avenue. A man was walking on the sidewalk when a group of eight people, including teenagers, jumped him. The assailants proceeded to punch and kick the man while he was on the ground, with one of the young suspects taking the victim's phone and wallet.
The assault lasted nearly half a minute before the group ran off. The incident report says officers were able to track down two of the suspects within minutes.
Jadin Shaw, 18, was arrested along with a 14-year-old boy, but both were back on the streets the next day. Hamilton County court records show Shaw was released on a 10% of $10,000 cash bond. The FOP said the 14-year-old was released by a juvenile court judge with an electronic ankle monitor.
"So what the judges are doing with their lenient policies are enabling for this problem to continue," Powers said.
Powers said to keep the community safe and show zero tolerance for violent attacks, the only option is "taking and removing these individuals off the streets, putting them behind bars."
During the conversation Tuesday, Powers acknowledged what Ohio voters approved in November 2022.
Issue 1requires Ohio courts to consider public safety, the seriousness of the offense, a person's criminal record and the likelihood a person will return to court when it comes to setting bail amounts. WCPO asked Powers if some of the recent decisions by some judges violate what voters approved.
"Public safety consideration, I think so," Powers said. "Every judge has an obligation to consider public safety in setting bonds."
Powers said getting a higher bond isn't really an option, so her office is focused on bringing the situation to light.
"The solution for us, and this office and my prosecutors, is that we will continue to fight hard against soft-on-crime judges, the woke judges, the radical ideas of restorative justice and continue to emphasize how important it is for the public to be protected ... so the public takes action that they're awake and they're paying attention to how important their vote is to the types of judges they're electing in this county because it has a direct impact on our quality of life," Powers said.
Powers acknowledged judges have a lot of discretion when it comes to setting bond amounts. They are allowed to add other conditions to their release like "no contact" with the victims, ankle monitoring, travel restrictions and house arrest.
WCPO asked Powers if her office is considering filing ethical complaints against certain judges. She said no. She said the next step in these cases is waiting for the grand jury report to come out, and a potential indictment, and then her office can ask a judge to reconsider the bond amount. However, Powers said prosecutors tend to face the same judge who set the original bond amount, so in her opinion, it's an uphill battle.
While Powers and the FOP are calling on juvenile court judges for accountability, others are pushing back.
Angela Chang, director of the youth defense division for the public defender's office in Hamilton County, believes locking juveniles up is not going to solve the problem. When it comes to accountability, she has a different approach.
"When we talk about accountability, locking up or being harsh in that sense is probably a little bit short-sighted," Chang said.
She said judges look at the needs of each individual child and weigh what they think is best.
"I don't think it's fair to say that judge is responsible for somebody's individual behavior," she said. "Certainly, they are responsible for the appropriate response that they give, and I do think they take that job very seriously."
Chang said things like mental health treatment can help a child understand long-term consequences, adding they can't learn those things behind bars.
"And so what might appear to be a slap on the wrist, but is really in the form of treatment, or maybe some sort of restorative justice practice," she said.
She said juveniles are more likely to be rehabilitated and changed through treatment.
"We certainly don't want to define any child by something they've done … the worst thing that they've ever done," she said.
When it comes to that juvenile's actions causing serious harm, Chang said it's important to note "kids are kids, they're not mini-adults."
"So whatever the behavior, and no matter how serious, they are still children and under the law should be treated as such," Chang said.
She said during pretrial she believes the court does "their very best" in determining when juveniles should be safely released. Occasionally, she said, the Hamilton County Youth Center does fill up, but "I don't think that's what is driving release decisions."
While Chang said the recent incidents are understandably a cause for concern, over-correcting could cause more harm than good.
"We have to really be careful and cautious as a community to not over-correct and, you know, widen the net and keep more kids in detention or out of you know, disrupting their lives when they don't need to be," Chang said.
Overall, Chang said she believes the community needs to take accountability for the fact many kids do not have their needs met in the first place, sometimes driving these types of violent behaviors.
Mayor Aftab Pureval released a statement calling both attacks "chilling" and "tragic," and noted the issue goes beyond policing.
"Police alone will not solve this problem," Pureval said in a statement. "We need all partners — from our schools, to our courts, to community advocates. This is going to require a hard look at our systems and a multi-jurisdictional approach, and we’re committed to working with anyone who’s at the table.”
