Tracie Hunter receives sentence

Convicted Hamilton County Juvenile Court Judge Tracie Hunter will likely be heading to jail after receiving her sentence on Friday.

Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Norbert Nadel sentenced Hunter to six months in the Hamilton County Justice Center and one year of probation for her conviction on one felony count of having unlawful interest in a public contract.

Nadel said that he faced a dilemma of what he called a "double whammy" in sentencing Hunter. He said that a low-level felony would normally merit probation and no jail time were it not for that dilemma.

"That's that Judge Hunter is a judge and a public official," Nadel said. "Unfortunately, it may be a felony 4, but that is a double whammy."

The count that Hunter was found guilty on involved accusations that she used her authority to get the medical records of an inmate that her brother, Steven Hunter, a former corrections officer, was fired for punching. A jury was hung on two counts of forgery, two counts of tampering with evidence, two counts of theft in office, one count of misusing a credit card and an additional count of having unlawful interest in a public contract.

Hunter's attorney, Clyde Bennett III, called 17 character witnesses who asked for leniency prior to Hunter's sentencing.

"We should not lock up people because we're angry at them," Ohio Justice and Policy Center executive director David Singleton said. "I just want to close by asking you to please, please find a way, I know that you're going to be fair and do what is right … but I just hope that you find a way to keep her in the community."

Bennett argued that Hunter should not be sent to prison because the former judge and current pastor's service to the community outweighs any crime she may have committed. He said she poses no threat to anybody and therefore shouldn't be incarcerated and that her incarceration would incapacitate her ability to do good in the community.

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