Candidates
Candidate Profiles
Zach Gwin
Candidate for:
Franklin County Municipal Court Judge
Undergraduate Education:
Miami University
Legal Education:
The Ohio State University, Moritz College of Law - Juris Doctorate
Legal Experience:
From 2018 to present, I have served as an Assistant City Attorney in the Columbus City Attorney’s Office Zone Initiative. I am responsible for litigating public nuisance cases seeking injunctive relief in the Franklin County Municipal Court Environmental Division. My cases include those seeking orders to abate nuisance properties with housing, health, and zoning violations as well as criminal nuisance activity. I serve as a liaison between the City Attorney’s Office and the Columbus Division of Police, the Department of Building and Zoning Services, Columbus Public Health, and other city departments.
From 2017 to 2018, I was in private practice at the law firm of Farlow & Associates. While at Farlow & Associates, my practice focused on criminal defense but I gained experience in education law, medical malpractice, domestic relations, personal injury, consumer protection, landlord-tenant, and construction law.
From 2014-2017, I served as an Assistant City Prosecutor with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office. My duties included conducting motion hearings, jury trials, court trials, analyzing cases to determine if plea agreements should be negotiated and conducting negotiations. My docket included Domestic Violence, OVI, Vehicular Homicide, and Assault cases. I tried dozens of cases, conducted over thirty motion hearings, and managed a monthly docket of over 400 cases.
Candidate Statement:
(In response to the question, "Please explain why you believe you are qualified for the judicial position for which you are
seeking election.")
I have spent over a decade working in Franklin County Municipal Court and have a balanced perspective having served as a legal intern, prosecutor, criminal defense attorney, and now as a nuisance abatement attorney. Nearly the entirety of my career has involved litigation and has been evenly divided between criminal and civil litigation experience. I have tried numerous cases to verdict before judges and juries and have handled dozens of motion hearings in the court I seek.
I have handled thousands of cases in Franklin County Municipal Court and have risen to the role of Senior Assistant City Attorney with the Columbus City Attorney’s Office. I also bring the experience of having worked, volunteered, and lived in one of the most under-resourced communities in the entire state. I have dedicated myself to the community and can bring this perspective to the bench.
Columbus Bar Association
2023 Judiciary Committee Finding:
4 stars
(what does this mean?)
Running Against:
(unopposed)