Wende Cross seeks second term on Hamilton County bench

Judge Wende Cross is seeking a second term on the Hamilton County Common Pleas Court bench in the Nov. 3 general election. The nonpartisan seat is in the General Division.

The term begins Feb. 12.

Cross first won the seat in November 2020, according to the Ohio Black Judges Association.

Candidate information

Office sought: Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge, General Division (Term Commencing 2/12)
Party: Nonpartisan
Ballot status: Certified for the ballot
Education: Bachelor's degree in political science, Miami University (1988); juris doctor, Northern Kentucky University (1992)
Bar memberships: Ohio and Kentucky bars
Affiliations: Cross lists membership in the Madisonville Community Council, Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, Impact 100, NAACP and Christ Emmanuel Christian Fellowship, according to her Judicial Votes Count response.

Experience and public service

Cross began her legal career as an associate attorney at Landrum and Shouse LLP from 1992 to 1995, according to the Ohio Black Judges Association. She then spent seven years as an assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Kentucky from 1995 to 2002.

She held the same role in the Southern District of Ohio from 2002 to 2004. She taught as adjunct professor at Salmon P. Chase College of Law from 2004 to 2007, according to BallotReady records, and remains listed as adjunct faculty at the school.

Cross was managing partner at Cross, Smith & Associates Co., LPA from 2005 to 2008. She then served as managing attorney at W.C. Cross Law, LLC from 2008 to 2012, BallotReady records show.

She served as a magistrate at Hamilton County Juvenile Court beginning in 2012 before winning election to the Common Pleas bench. Cross serves on the board of trustees of the Cincinnati Bar Association and is a member of the CBA Professionalism Committee, according to the Ohio Black Judges Association.

On the issues

Cross did not return the Anderson-Mariemont Journal's candidate questionnaire. No policy positions or issue statements were available in public sources reviewed for this profile.