League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area Education Fund
	Hamilton County, OH November 6, 2012 Election
	Candidates Answer Questions on the Issues Judge, Juvenile Division; Court of Common Pleas

The questions were prepared by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area and asked of all candidates for this office.     See below for questions on Qualifications, Judicial Independence, Administration of justice Click on a name for candidate information.   See also more information about this contest. 1. What are your qualifications for office? (50 Word limit) Answer from WILLIAM D. "BILL" BELL, SR.: I have been an attorney since 1976. I have extensive juvenile law experiences. I am respected by other lawyers because my of teaching of law school and my intelligence. I am respectful to all people. I would continue to be with all the litigants before me. Answer from John M. Williams: I currently serve as the Administrative and Presiding Judge of the Hamilton County Juvenile Court. As a former prosecutor, I successfully prosecuted thousands of cases including child support, robbery, rape and murder. I also served as Clerk of Courts, Director of the Board of Elections and Mayor's Court Magistrate. 2. What programs do you support to maintain the independence of the judiciary? Answer from John M. Williams: The Judiciary is a separate but co-equal branch of government. Judges are elected to make decisions in accordance with local, state and federal laws. It is my job to follow the law, protect children and provide guidance, not just punishment, for at risk youth and families that appear before me. Answer from WILLIAM D. "BILL" BELL, SR.: I believe that the canons of judicial conduct should be followed. Any conflicts of interest in any case should be referred to a different judge for its resolution. I believe that peer review by the judges should continue to operate. 3. What specific changes would you like to see in the administration of justice in Hamilton County? (100 word limit) Answer from WILLIAM D. "BILL" BELL, SR.: I would like the judicial outcome of all case, juvenile and otherwise, to be based upon the applicable legal principles of the law and not upon other grounds. All litigates, witnesses and attorneys should be treated with the same respect and impartiality without regard to gender, race, age, religion, economic status. family history and political contributions. I would be in favor of a training period for all new judges in the courts. Many of the judges selected in the past have not haD experience in the legal arenas for which they are appointed and/ or elected. Answer from John M. Williams: As Juvenile Court Judge, my top priority is to keep our children and communities safe. Under my leadership, the Court engaged in reforms to better leverage our limited resources to improve the lives of our most vulnerable youth. The Court privately licensed Hillcrest Training School so as to maximize service delivery while saving the county millions in operational expenses. We partnered with local schools in an effort to reduce gun violence through the L.I.V.E. Cincinnati program. I supported the expansion of programs that created education and employment opportunities for youth such as iSPACE, Team Child, and Kids in School Rule! Responses to questions asked of each candidate are reproduced as submitted to the League.  Candidates' statements are presented as submitted. Answers will be cut off if they exceed a word limit, if present. Direct references to opponents are not permitted. The order of the candidates is random and changes daily. Candidates who did not respond are not listed on this page.