Biography of Melissa A. Powers

Melissa Powers is honored to serve as Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney. She assumed this role in January 2023 after more than three decades of public service to the people of Hamilton County, Ohio. She is the first female to lead the prosecuting attorney’s office.

Powers began her legal career in 1991 after graduating from the College of Law at the University of Cincinnati. She worked as an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney in Hamilton County’s Juvenile, Municipal, and Common Pleas Courts. She also practiced in the Appellate Division, arguing cases to the 1st District Court of Appeals. Most notably, in 1997, she obtained the confession from Joseph Paul Franklin, a white-supremacist serial killer. This confession officially solved the 17-year-old double murder of two boys in Cincinnati.

During Powers’ time as an assistant prosecutor, she learned the importance of providing justice and closure to victims of violent crime and their families. In her current role as prosecuting attorney, her top priorities include keeping Hamilton County neighborhoods safe, holding violent criminals accountable, protecting seniors and children, and fighting for victims and their families.

In 1998, Powers left the Prosecuting Attorney’s office to begin her private litigation practice, where she specialized in criminal defense and civil litigation. She remained in private practice until 2006, when Governor Bob Taft appointed her to the Hamilton County Municipal Court and was subsequently elected twice, in 2007 and 2013. She served as a judge on that court for ten years and handled over 75,000 civil and criminal cases during her tenure. In 2014 and 2015, her peers named her presiding judge of the Municipal Court.

As a Municipal Court judge, Powers established the Hamilton County Municipal Veterans Treatment Court, which incorporated an innovative team approach and community collaboration to address the unique needs of justice-involved combat veterans. The Municipal Veterans Treatment Court required participants to sign a contract between the veteran and the judge. The contract outlined conditions and goals for the veteran to complete while in the program, including job training, education, substance-abuse treatment, and therapy.

Powers’ highly successful treatment court was a model used throughout the State of Ohio. To date, more than 275 Hamilton County residents have successfully completed veterans court programs developed by Powers.

In 2016, voters elected Powers to the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. As judge, she presided over more than 77,000 cases of custody, dependency, and delinquency. This work included hundreds of violent felonies committed by juvenile offenders. Powers’ peers on the court also chose her to serve as Juvenile Court Administrative Judge from 2020-2022. As Administrative Judge, Powers was responsible for managing 300 employees and a $35 million budget.

On January 24, 2023, Powers was sworn in as Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney to serve the unexpired term of former Prosecuting Attorney Joe Deters.

Powers is a lifelong Cincinnatian, graduating from McAuley High School in 1979, the University of Cincinnati in 1984, and the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1991. She has served on numerous boards, including Cincinnati Works, Operations Legal Help Ohio, Cincinnati Fire Foundation, and the Tri-State Veterans Community Alliance.

In 2008, Powers received the Kay Family Award from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The award is presented annually at the Concert Against Hate and is given to people who have shown courage and compassion in fighting hate, intolerance, and justice. The award is considered one of the most prestigious recognitions given by the ADL. To date, 133 people have received the awards since its inception in 1995.

Melissa Powers is married and is the proud mother of four children and grandmother of five grandchildren.