Thomas Raymond Lipps
Presiding Administrative Judge
Hamilton County Juvenile Court
800 Broadway, 14th Floor
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: (513) 946-9212
Fax: (513) 946-9216
Member of Ohio, Kentucky and Federal Bar
Legal Education
Salmon P. Chase College of Law, Northern Kentucky University
Juris Doctor, May 1981; Class Rank: #1
Rebecca Bloom Bettman and John G. Carlisle Memorial Fund Monetary Award, highest
cumulative average, 1979-80; 1980-81
West Hornbook Award, highest cumulative average, 1979-80; 1980-81
Order of the Curia
Chase Achievement Scholarship, 1980
Common Law Award, Taxation Section, 1980
Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities, 1979-80; 1980-81
Maurice William Myers Fund Award, 1980-81
American Jurisprudence Award for receiving highest grade in the following
classes:
Constitutional Law 1978, Commercial Paper 1980,
Decedents Estates and Trusts II 1980, Federal Taxation 1980,
Family Law 1981.
Undergraduate Education
University of Cincinnati, College of Arts and Science
Bachelor of Arts, August 1972
Major in History with course work in Psychology and Political Science
High School Education
Elder High School: Honor Graduate, June 1968
Work Experience
HAMILTON COUNTY JUVENILE COURT, APRIL 1974 - PRESENT
Presiding Administrative Judge: 2005 - present
Judge: 1998 - 2004
Preside over cases as one of two Judges specifically assigned to the Juvenile
Division of the Court of Common Pleas. Rule on issues concerning juvenile
delinquency, transfer of jurisdiction, child abuse, child neglect, paternity,
child support, child endangerment, child medical emergencies, and others.
Appointed by Governor George V. Voinovich, 6-1-98, elected to full term 11-3-99
Court Administrator/Chief Magistrate: 1984 - 1998
Responsible for 500 employees and multi-million dollar budget. Duties include
formulating policy, planning and administering the Court Clerk's Office,
Probation Department, Counseling Units, Work Detail, Detention Center and two
large treatment facilities. Preside as Chief Magistrate over the most difficult
and sensitive hearings. This is the highest position within the Court, reporting
only to the Juvenile Court Judges.
Chief Referee: 1983 - 1988
Chief legal counsel and advisor to the Juvenile Court. Directly responsible for
the supervision of 23 Court referees, overseeing all judicial decisions; member
of the Executive Committee directing the Court.
Referee: 1982 - 1983
Presided over trials in delinquency, unruly, paternity, child abuse, child
neglect, and dependency cases. Ruled on points of evidence and law. Responsible
for decisions in adjudication, sentencing and dispositional orders.
Stay Center Coordinator: 1979 - 1982
Held this position as the Juvenile Court liaison to the Stay Centers (four homes
for youth as an alternative to detention). Duties included deciding which
children may enter the center, supervising the placement, coordinating Court,
Stay Center, Welfare and agency participation in placement of those children.
Probation Supervisor: 1978 - 1979
Responsible for direct management of probation officers, overseeing casework and
focus, motivation of staff.
Probation Officer: 1974 - 1978
Duties included monitoring probationers' behavior, counseling both children and
their parents, referring to appropriate agencies, making dispositional
investigations and recommendations to the Court, representing the Court within
the community and the schools, facilitating placement, and carrying out other
orders of the Court.
Other Juvenile Court Experience
Referee in unofficial community court. Past assignments in Clerk's Office,
detention, and work program. Detailed knowledge of various treatment modalities
and Juvenile Court structure. Rated excellent on all performance appraisals.
Juvenile Court Outstanding Achievement Award, 1980.
Private Law Practice: May 1981 - 1984
Limited private practice in probate, real estate and contract areas.
Other Work Experience
Swallen's Dept Stores: Sales
C & P Enterprises: Laborer
Richards Company: Sales
Webster's Men's Clothes: Sales
Ed Bayer, Contractor: Painter
Organizations - Current Member
Ohio State Bar Association; Kentucky Commonwealth Bar
Association; Cincinnati Bar Association; Northern Kentucky
University Alumni Association;
Ohio Urban Juvenile Court Administrators Association; Juvenile Court
Administrators Association; Board of Directors Citizens Committee
On Youth; Juvenile Court Advisory Council; Board of Directors Oak Hills
Boys Basketball Association; Select Basketball Coach; AAU Basketball Coach;
Member National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges; Ohio Magistrate's Association; Ohio Information Task Force; Hamilton County Representative to
Governor's Juvenile Crime Summit; Committee Chairperson Bench Bar; Hamilton
County Corrections Committee; Founding Member Child Fatality Review Team;
Founding member Children's Hospital Child Advocacy Center Committee; Golden
Gloves Amateur Boxing Board; Northeast Community Action Coalition Board member;
Hamilton County School Safety Panel; Ohio Judicial College instructor; Ohio
Judicial Conference Committee
Organizations - Past Involvement
Board of Education Steering Committee; Board of Directors One
Plus Big
Brothers; Chairman of Youth and Community Services Committee;
Family and Children First Council; American Red Cross, Member Long Range
Planning Committee; Member American Society of Public Administrators; President
Oak Hills Junior Girls Basketball League; Certified Police Instructor; Youth
Coach soccer, basketball and baseball, girls and boys, ages 6-19; Mayor's Task
Force on Juvenile Crime; Delhi Athletic Association
References
Honorable Judge David E. Grossmann
800 Broadway, 14th Floor
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-1332
Honorable Judge Sylvia Sieve Hendon
First District Court of Appeals
William Howard Taft Building
230 East Ninth Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Honorable Judge John P. O'Connor
Hamilton County Court House, Room 566
1000 Main Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
Professor Roger Billings
Salmon P. Chase College of Law
1401 Dixie Highway
Covington, Kentucky 41011
Copyright 2009 by Hamilton County Juvenile Court. All Rights Reserved.
