Judge Sanders runs for new drug court term

Nicole Sanders, a Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge in the Drug Court Division since 2013, is running for a new term in the Nov. 3 general election. The race is nonpartisan.

Sanders is a lifelong Cincinnati resident, according to Ballotpedia. She is certified for the ballot, according to BallotReady. Her campaign website outlines her legal career and credentials.

The Anderson-Mariemont Journal sent Sanders a questionnaire for this profile. She had not responded as of publication. The information below is drawn from her campaign website, Ballotpedia and BallotReady.

Candidate information

Office sought: Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge, Drug Court Division (Term Commencing 1/3)
Election: Nov. 3, 2026, Ohio General Election
Party: Nonpartisan
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Education: Bachelor of science, University of Cincinnati (2000); juris doctor, University of Cincinnati (2003)
High school: Withrow High School

Experience and public service

Sanders has worked in Hamilton County's legal system since 2004, according to BallotReady profile data.

She began as an assistant city prosecutor for Cincinnati from 2004 to 2006. She then served as an assistant city solicitor in the Cincinnati City Law Department from 2006 to 2007, followed by a role as chief counsel for collections in Cincinnati's solicitor's office from 2007 to 2013.

Sanders served as a magistrate at Hamilton County Juvenile Court from April 2013 to December 2020, according to her campaign website. BallotReady separately lists her as a judge on the Common Pleas Court Drug Court Division since 2013. She has also served as a prosecutor at the Cincinnati Municipal Court's Mental Health Court, according to her response on the Judicial Votes Count questionnaire.

Sanders said on her campaign website that she is a member of the Ohio State Bar, the Southern District Western Division, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and the United States Supreme Court of America.

She received the Champions of Recovery Award in 2022 and was named a Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers Fellow in 2010, according to her campaign website. She is a 2023 Ohio State Bar Foundation Fellow.