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Director - Conviction Integrity Unit (4678-31)
The Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office serves over 830,000 residents of the City of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, Ohio.
The office is committed to the principle of equal justice under the law. We uphold the bedrock principle by doing our work with excellence and courage, promoting integrity and accountability, and acting with independence and moral clarity. We strive to build a justice system for the people that is worthy of the public's trust, supports victims of crime, and ultimately keeps our communities safe.
An example of our commitment to the principle of equal justice under the law and advancement of justice is our office's establishment of Hamilton County's Conviction Integrity Unit.
Job Overview: The Conviction Integrity Unit (CIU) is a specialized unit within the prosecutor’s office that investigates claims of wrongful convictions and sentencing inequities. The Hamilton County Prosecutor is seeking to hire the first Director of the CIU. As the first Director, the candidate will be the driving force behind the establishment and day-to-day operations of the CIU. This position requires an individual with significant felony trial and appellate/post‑conviction experience, including complex evidentiary issues, forensic science and constitutional claims, and an entrepreneurial mindset with a proven ability to build an organization with impact.
- Oversee screening, acceptance, and prioritization of applications alleging actual innocence, wrongful conviction, or unjust sentencing.
- Direct and supervise reinvestigations, including evidence review, new forensic testing, and interviews, and make recommendations on exonerations or sentence relief.
- Work and communicate sensitively with victims, survivors, and affected defendants while protecting confidentiality and maintaining public trust in the process.
- Supervise the CIU attorney, investigator, and paralegal. Assign caseloads and ensure the unit operates with appropriate independence within the office.
- Serve as the primary liaison to the elected prosecutor, innocence organizations, defense counsel, courts, and forensic agencies on CIU matters.
- Coordinate with other divisions regarding evidence retention, mass notifications when systemic errors are found, and any follow-up prosecutions of newly identified perpetrators.
- Analyze CIU cases for patterns of error and propose policy and practice changes to prevent future wrongful convictions or excessive sentences.
- Design and deliver internal training for prosecutors, investigators, and staff on disclosure, eyewitness identification, forensics, and other risk areas.
- Prepare regular reports on CIU activities, including outcomes, and systemic findings, for office leadership and, as appropriate, the public.
- Juris Doctorate.
- Licensed to practice law in the State of Ohio or eligible to become admitted to practice law in Ohio.
- 10 or more years of criminal litigation experience in felony trial and/or appellate or post-conviction, particularly with violent crime.
- A deep commitment to accuracy, fairness, and correcting injustice, with a record of integrity-focused work rather than conviction-rate-driven performance.
- Advanced case-analysis skills, including comfort and experience with document-driven cases that can take months or years to build, including reviewing large records, identifying legal and factual errors, and reassessing credibility and reliability of evidence.
- Familiarity with forensic science issues, eyewitness identification, confessions, and common cause of wrongful convictions.
- Prior supervisory or program-leadership experience, including managing attorneys, investigators, or complex projects.
- Outstanding written and oral advocacy skills for drafting reports, recommendations, and post-conviction pleadings, and for presenting complex findings clearly.
- A proven ability to work effectively with prosecutors, defense lawyers, innocence organizations, courts, law enforcement, experts, and impacted individuals and families.
- Emotional resilience, humility, and professionalism when handling sensitive, high-profile, or politically charged cases involving past errors by the office.
- Relevant federal, state, and local laws, regulations and rules especially as they relate to criminal matters.
- Principles and practices of employee supervision, including selection, work planning, performance review, evaluation, training, and discipline.
- Office protocols with respect to negotiation and litigation practice.
- Legal research methods, databases, and other research tools or sources.
- Rules of professional conduct and standards for ethical behavior.
- Provide leadership and direction to staff.
- Carefully consider the appropriate role for the State in each case or scenario brought to the CIU's attention.
- Plan, coordinate, train, and supervise the work of staff.
- Assess the needs of the CIU and develop short and long-range goals and objectives.
- Establish and maintain cooperative working relationships with a client and other professionals.
- Utilize initiative and independent judgement within established procedural guidelines.
- Effectively communicate verbally and in written form.
- Exercise judgement and tact.
- Understand, interpret, and apply relevant federal, state, and local laws, policies, and procedures.
- Maintain confidentiality of information and records and work independently of the trial team prosecutors.
- Administer the policies of the Hamilton County Prosecuting Attorney.
- Design and implement protocols, manage caseloads, set priorities, and build a collaborative, learning-oriented unit culture.
- Take initiative and be self-directed on non-deadline-oriented investigations.
- Network in such a way to build a roster of contacts where referrals to other agencies or institutions may be the appropriate public service.
- Full-time role; paid bi-weekly; paid vacation, sick time, two annual personal days.
- Comprehensive Benefits Package: Medical, HRA, Dental, Vision, Employer-Paid Life Insurance, Public Service Loan Forgiveness Eligibility, Wellness Incentives, Employee Assistance Plan.
- Ohio Public Employee’s Retirement System which includes a 10% employee contribution and a 14% employer contribution.
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