Judge Candace C. Crouse

Judge Candace C. Crouse was elected to the First District Court of Appeals in November 2018 and took the bench on February 11, 2019.

Judge Crouse earned a B.A. in International Studies and German from West Virginia University and a J.D. from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, where she was a managing editor of The Ohio State Law Journal. Following law school, Judge Crouse spent two years clerking for Federal Judge Frederick P. Stamp in the Northern District of West Virginia.

Before being elected to the bench, Judge Crouse was a partner in her own law firm and represented clients in state and federal court at both the trial and appellate levels. She has litigated cases in many areas of the law including immigration law, domestic relations law, First Amendment law, constitutional law, personal injury law, contract law, and criminal defense.

Throughout her career, Judge Crouse made it a priority to use her law degree to help people who were lost or without a voice in our legal system. She often took court appointments and volunteered her legal services to protect the rights of those who could not afford counsel.

Judge Crouse has served as an Adjunct Professor of Law and a Trial Team Coach at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. She is a member of The Ohio Judicial Conference Jury Instructions Committee and The Ohio Board of Professional Conduct.