Assistant City Prosecutor

City of Delaware, OH; Delaware (OH); On-site; USD 75,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

The City of Delaware, Ohio seeks an Assistant City Prosecutor to prepare and prosecute cases in Delaware Municipal Court, handling misdemeanors, traffic, and code enforcement.

You will work closely with law enforcement, courts, and city administration, with occasional after-hours on-call obligations and regular attendance expectations.

This role requires strong legal research, trial preparation, and effective advocacy while upholding ethical standards and serving the community.

Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university; Juris Doctorate from an accredited law school.
• Must be a member in good standing of the Ohio Bar.
• Demonstrated courtroom/trial experience preferred.
• Regular and reliable attendance is required.

Responsibilities

• Make charging decisions after reviewing police reports and applicable law.
• Conduct trials and pretrial hearings in Delaware Municipal Court.
• Prepare cases for trial; negotiate plea agreements.
• Draft motions, pleadings, and memoranda; review case materials.

Skills

Interviewing

Public speaking / presenting

Customer service

Discretion and judgment

Education

Juris Doctorate (JD)

Active Ohio law license (Bar)

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Nature of Work, Essential Functions & KSA's

You can do great work and love what you do with the City of Delaware. We are an organization that succeeds because of teamwork, dedication, diversity, and the innovative spirit of all our employees. The City of Delaware is an award-winning local government organization known for its professionalism, customer service orientation and a strong commitment to distinctive and well-planned community development. The work environment is stable with excellent benefits and retirement packages. Our mission is to ensure an effective government, a healthy economy, being a safe city and welcoming you to be a part of this great community!

Under the direction of the City Prosecutor and City Attorney, the Assistant City Prosecutor is primarily responsible for performing professional legal work in preparing and prosecuting cases in the Delaware Municipal Court, including all violations of the City Charter, ordinances, and Ohio statutes. This position has a high degree of autonomy and works directly with multiple agencies including law enforcement, courts, and administration. Work is, at times, required to be performed outside normal working hours including serving on an on-call 24-hours/day rotation and assisting law enforcement personnel any time of any day as needed. Position requires regular and reliable attendance.

Essential Functions:

• Makes charging decisions following review and evaluation of police reports in light of applicable law. Serve as a legal advisor to local law enforcement personnel by keeping them apprised of relevant changes in criminal law and procedure through periodic in-service training and regular consultation. Serve as full-time assistant prosecutorial representative of all local law enforcement agencies appearing in the Delaware Municipal Court on misdemeanor, traffic, and code enforcement cases and for the Registrar of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles in license suspension appeal hearings.
• Conducts trials and pretrial hearings.
• Prepares cases for trial and negotiates plea agreements.
• Prepares written motions, pleadings, arguments, and other memoranda.
• Reviews cases for negotiations, witnesses, and discovery. Reviews legal documents in preparing cases for trial.
• Works on civil projects assigned by City Attorney including legal research, drafting, and reviewing documents.
• Participates in ongoing legal education to remain up to date on criminal and civil law.
• Interviews witnesses, victims, attorneys, and law enforcement officers, and presents arguments in court. Appears against accused in court of law and presents evidence before a judge or jury. Confers with defense attorneys and/or witnesses in disputed cases and negotiates plea agreements when it is appropriate to do so.
• Responsible for the conduct of all misdemeanor investigations and inquiries made in order to carry out the various prosecutorial duties as noted above.
• Responsible for prosecuting appeals to and from the Fifth Appellate District Court of Appeals, including the timely submission of legal briefs and other required court papers and the presentation of oral arguments.
• May serve as assistant city attorney on matters including annexation, easements, contracts, construction law and bankruptcy as needed.
• May manage a docket of criminal income tax cases.
• Files and pulls cases for all courtrooms and hearings.
• Reviews requests to have records sealed and determines eligibility prepares and files response to requests with the Clerk and sends to defendant or attorney.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities

Knowledge

• Interviewing.
• Microsoft Office applications (e.g., Outlook, Word, Excel, Publisher, Access, Sharepoint, OneNote, and Teams) and other computer software.
• City and Department goals and objectives.
• City and Department policies and procedures.
• Government structure and process.
• Standard office procedures.
• The general field of criminal law and procedure.
• Constitutional doctrines regarding the conduct of the police under the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution; and under Article 1, Section 10 of the Ohio Constitution.
• The specific provisions of the Revised Code and Codified Ordinances pertaining to misdemeanor and traffic offenses and code infractions.
• Federal, state, and local laws pertaining to the rights of crime victims in misdemeanor cases.
• State and local laws pertaining to OMVI/DUI enforcement and procedures relating to administrative license suspensions.
• All stages of the criminal justice system and of municipal government.
• Court procedures and applicable rules.
• Prosecutorial duties, as outlined in the City of Delaware Charter, the Ohio Revised Code, the Rules of Criminal Procedures, the Code of Professional Responsibility and other applicable laws and Constitutional case decisions, as well as, generally accepted professional standards of performance for public prosecutors.

Skills

• Excellent organization, attention to detail, accuracy, time management, and critical thinking skills.
• Using tact, discretion, initiative, and independent judgment within established guidelines.
• Civic engagement and customer service.
• Dealing courteously and diplomatically with the public.

Abilities

• Understand, interpret, and apply laws, rules, or regulations to specific situations.
• Deal with many variables, define and solve problems, collect, analyze, and interpret data, establish facts, and determine specific action.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality about information within the office.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide.
• Calculate fractions, decimals, and percentages.
• Prepare correspondence.
• Compile and prepare reports.
• Understand and follow written and oral instructions, policies, and procedures.
• Be honest, dependable, and trustworthy.
• Maintain effective working relationships.
• Communicate effectively, both in oral and written form and to prepare and present effective public presentations.
• Exercise independent judgement and discretion.
• Work in a professional office environment.
• Conduct extensive legal research; assemble investigative information; plan, organize and develop trial strategies and prepare various motions, legal memoranda, related documents, and correspondence with a high degree of professional competence.
• Effectively prosecute a high-volume caseload while maintaining administrative efficiency within the City Prosecutor's Office.
• Effectively deal with crime victims and witnesses in a considerate manner.
• Spot issues.

Physical Requirements & Working Conditions

Physical Requirements

• Majority of work is performed in an office environment or courtroom where the physical demands require sitting and standing for extended periods of time; frequent use of computers and standard office equipment; may work under stress of deadlines.
• Sufficient clarity of speech and hearing or other communication capabilities, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to discern verbal instructions and to communicate effectively with others in person and over the telephone.
• Sufficient visual acuity, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to comprehend written work instructions and to review, evaluate and prepare a variety of written materials on a computer for extended periods of time.
• Sufficient manual dexterity, with or without reasonable accommodation, which permits the employee to operate standard office equipment and computer systems.
• Sufficient ability and strength to lift, carry, or otherwise move objects up to twenty (20) pounds for varying distances.

Equipment Operated

Computer, copier, phone, and other standard/modern office equipment; computer software (e.g., Microsoft Office, IC Solutions, and other applicable computer software).

Training, Experience, and Qualifications

• Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university, and a Juris Doctorate or equivalent degree from an accredited law school.
• Must be a member, in good standing, of the bar of the State of Ohio.
• Demonstrated courtroom and trial experience is preferred.
• Demonstrated adherence to appropriate rules of professional and ethical conduct as set forth in the Code of Professional Responsibility, or as otherwise prescribed by law or generally accepted professional standards.
• Demonstrated brief writing experience and clear, concise writing style.
• Regular and reliable attendance.
• Any combination of training and experience, which indicates possession of the skills, knowledge, and abilities listed below.