Alyse Rettich and Montgomery County Republican Party Chairman state Rep. Phil Plummer, R-Butler Twp., said she is well qualified for the job and will meet the legal standard if the appointment comes next month.
Ohio law requires a municipal court judge to be an attorney with six years of experience practicing law. Alyse Rettich earned her law license May 2, 2016 — meaning she will be eligible for the seat on May 2 this year.
Plummer said Alyse Rettich rose above the other candidates in the screening committee because she had experience handling both civil and criminal cases.
“There’s a lot of variables that go into it,” he said.
Alyse Rettich currently works at the law firm Freund, Freeze and Arnold. Before that, she was a prosecutor at the Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office for five years. She holds a law degree from the University of Dayton. She said she also had a lifelong mentorship from her father who taught her many things about the law and life.
“I’ve worked really hard … to absorb and learn and do as much as possible and to be as hands-on as possible and as open as possible, and I think that honestly, even though I might have just (enough) years in, I think my background and my experience across the board, not just legal experience, but I do have a good amount of trial and legal experience, but even in my other experiences, frankly I think do speak to the fact that I know how to do it and I am more than capable,” she said.
Josh Liles has a law degree from the University of Dayton and earned his law license in 2004. He is a managing partner at Baver and Liles, where he handles many cases in the Miamisburg Municipal Court.
“Probably 75% of my clients are from the court’s jurisdiction, so I think I have a really good understanding of the makeup of our community,” he said. “I’ve had the most cases over there probably for the last 10 years, so I know how the court operates, I know what kind of cases are going to come in front of the court and how to deal with them.”
DeWine spokesman Dan Tierney said they are still early in the process of appointing a replacement to the seat. He declined to comment on the qualifications of the candidates, saying they are still gathering background materials on the nominated individuals.
