Hon. Nicole L. Sanders is a judge for the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas (General Division) in Ohio. She was elected to the bench on November 3, 2020.
During her tenure on the Court of Common Pleas, Sanders has presided on the Drug Court.
Prior to her election, she was a magistrate for the Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Juvenile Court, a position to which she was appointed in 2013. As such, Sanders presided over custody, child support, and juvenile traffic matters.
She received a B.S. from the University of Cincinnati. Sanders went on to complete a J.D. at the University of Cincinnati College of Law in 2003. While a law student, she was the Book Review Editor for the Immigration and Nationality Law Review.
Shortly after graduating from law school, Sanders began her legal career as an assistant city prosecutor for the City of Cincinnati Prosecutor’s Office in 2004, where she prosecuted municipal, criminal, vehicular homicide, and traffic cases. Two years later, she was promoted to assistant city solicitor with the City of Cincinnati Law Department. As such, Sanders handled general civil litigation, contract law, income tax, personal injury defense, administrative law, and employment law matters. In addition, she acted as the prosecutor for the Mental Health Court.
Then, in 2007, Sanders was quickly promoted again, this time to chief counsel with the Solicitor’s Office for the City of Cincinnati. During her tenure in that position, she was credited with creating and managing the Collections Section of the Civil Litigation Division. Sanders remained in that capacity until her appointment to serve as a magistrate.
She has served on the Board of Trustees for the Winton Woods Community Coalition and the New Orphans Asylum Scholarship Foundation. Sanders sat on the Cincinnati Academy of Leadership for Lawyers Steering Committee and was a former chair and co-chair of its Ethic, Justice and Values section.
She also participated in the Cincinnati Bar Association’s Pro-Kids fundraiser, was a member of the Cincinnati Bar Association Black Lawyers of Cincinnati Scholarship Committee, and was a mentor for young lawyers through the Ohio Supreme Court’s Lawyer to Lawyer Program.
Sanders, a lifelong resident of Hamilton County, was raised in the Madisonville neighborhood. She is a mother and a grandmother. At the time of her election, she resided in Springfield Township.
Sanders is registered as a Democrat.
